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Hold Coca Cola Accountable for Plastic Choking Marine Life

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

Every plastic bottle that reaches the ocean steals life from marine ecosystems and pushes us closer to a future where plastic outweighs fish unless decisive action is taken now.

Hold Coca Cola Accountable for Plastic Choking Marine Life

The ocean provides food, oxygen, and livelihoods for more than four billion people. It also absorbs heat and carbon that would otherwise accelerate climate breakdown. Today, that same ocean is being overwhelmed by plastic pollution on a scale it cannot withstand.

Plastic does not disappear once it reaches the sea. It breaks into smaller and smaller fragments, spreading through water, sediments, and marine food webs. Fish, seabirds, turtles, and whales ingest plastic, often leading to starvation, internal injury, or death1. Over time, microplastics move up the food chain and have been detected in seafood consumed by people2.

Coca-Cola’s Plastic Footprint Reaches Every Ocean

Coca-Cola sells more than 100 billion plastic bottles every year, the majority made from PET plastic. That volume translates into roughly 200,000 bottles every minute. A large share of this packaging is never collected, especially in regions without effective waste systems, and leaks directly into the environment.

According to brand audits conducted across dozens of countries, Coca-Cola products have been identified as the most frequently found branded plastic waste in the environment for multiple consecutive years3. Bottles, caps, and labels appear repeatedly along coastlines, in rivers, and on beaches.

Recycling and Lightweight Bottles Fall Short

Coca-Cola has promoted recycling and lightweight bottle designs as solutions. In 2024, the company announced new PET bottles that use less plastic per unit4. While this reduces material per bottle, it does not address the total number of bottles produced and sold.

Recycling also fails to stop plastic pollution at scale. Most plastic is never recycled, and recycled plastic still relies on virgin plastic and produces microplastics and chemical pollution5. Recycling shifts responsibility onto consumers while plastic production continues to grow.

Reuse Was Promised Then Walked Back

Coca-Cola previously committed to expanding refillable and returnable packaging. That commitment included a target to sell at least 25 percent of beverages in reusable containers by 2030. In late 2024, those reuse goals were removed from the company’s environmental roadmap6.

Environmental groups warn that abandoning reuse locks in decades of additional single-use plastic waste entering waterways and oceans. Analysis suggests that without major change, Coca-Cola’s plastic pollution in oceans could reach hundreds of millions of kilograms every year by 20301.

The Solution Starts With Reducing Plastic at the Source

The most effective way to protect marine life is to stop plastic pollution before it starts. Refillable glass bottles and reuse systems already exist and can dramatically cut waste when used at scale. Coca-Cola has the infrastructure, resources, and global reach to lead this shift.

Sign the petition urging Coca-Cola to move away from single-use plastic and commit to sustainable production and consumption patterns that protect ocean life, human health, and future generations.

More on this issue:

  1. Damian Carrington, The Guardian (26 March 2025), “Coca-Cola plastic waste in oceans expected to reach 602m kilograms a year by 2030.”
  2. Plastic Pollution Coalition, Plastic Pollution Coalition (12 December 2024), “Coca-Cola Quietly Drops Reuse Targets, Decreases Recycling Goals.”
  3. Break Free From Plastic Movement, Break Free From Plastic (7 February 2024), “2023 Global Brand Audit: The Coca-Cola Company Is Once Again the Top Global Plastic Polluter.”
  4. Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Company Media Center (28 March 2024), “Coca-Cola North America Debuts New Lightweight PET Bottle Designs.”
  5. Kate Bertrand Connolly and Rick Lingle, Plastics Today (13 December 2024), “Coca-Cola Faces Backlash After Scaling Back Packaging Plans.”
  6. Oceana, Oceana (3 December 2024), “Coca-Cola Doubles Down on Single-Use Plastic, Abandons Reduction and Reuse Goals.”

The Petition

To the Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company

The ocean sustains life for more than four billion people. It regulates climate, feeds communities, and supports ecosystems that humanity depends on for survival. Yet this life-giving system faces an escalating threat from marine pollution driven by unsustainable production and consumption patterns.

Plastic pollution is now one of the deadliest pressures on ocean life. An estimated 100 million marine animals die each year after becoming entangled in plastic or ingesting it. Around 80 percent of ocean plastic originates on land, carried through rivers, storm drains, and coastlines into the sea. Once there, plastic does not disappear. It breaks down into microplastics that are mistaken for food by fish, seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals. These particles cause internal blockages, starvation, and suffocation.

Microplastics do not stop in the ocean. They move through the food chain and have been detected in seafood consumed by people. This places human health at risk and signals a system under severe strain. The longer plastic production continues at its current pace, the harder it becomes to reverse the damage. Scientists warn that if current trends persist, plastic in the ocean could outweigh fish within a generation.

Coca-Cola plays a central role in this crisis. With more than 500 brands, the company sells over 100 billion plastic bottles every year—about 200,000 every minute. A significant portion of these bottles is never recovered, especially in regions without adequate waste collection. For multiple consecutive years, Coca-Cola has been identified as the world’s largest branded plastic polluter, surpassing other major corporations.

The company has previously announced plans to increase refillable and returnable packaging, but progress remains slow. Marine ecosystems, coastal communities, and future generations cannot afford to wait years for meaningful action while plastic production continues to rise.

Eliminating plastic from this equation is essential. Recycling alone cannot solve the problem, as most plastic is never recycled and recycled plastic still perpetuates pollution and chemical exposure. The most effective solution is to reduce plastic at the source by shifting away from single-use packaging and expanding refillable, reusable, and plastic-free systems at scale.

We call on Coca-Cola to commit to sustainable production and consumption patterns now. This includes rapidly expanding refillable packaging, investing in reuse infrastructure globally, and phasing out single-use plastic bottles wherever alternatives exist.

These actions would protect marine life, reduce risks to human health, and help safeguard the ocean systems that sustain us all. By choosing leadership over delay, Coca-Cola can help secure a healthier, more resilient future for people and the planet.

Sincerely,

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