TV Review by Mark Langabeer (Hastings and Rye CLP)
In this programme (see here), Panorama, the Beeb’s flagship documentary series, highlights the problem of plastic-bottle waste which is polluting our environment. 470 billion plastic bottles are produced annually and almost half are Coke bottles. There are many of us who remember when drinks bottles were glass and you could get money back when you returned the empties. On a personal note, Coke tasted better when it was served from a glass bottle, though that maybe a perception, rather than reality!
The introduction of plastic was a godsend for the likes of Coca-Cola because it transferred the cost of waste and recycling onto the municipalities. Although it made a $20 billion profit last year, it has no obligation to meet any of the costs involved in cleaning up or recycling the waste. Under pressure from environmental groups, Coca-Cola have made a pledge that every bottle sold would be recycled by the year 2030. The problem with this pledge is that much of the bottle waste is not collected. Only in Europe, in particular Germany and Finland, are over 90% of bottles recycled. Britain lags behind, with only 57%.
‘Pearl of Africa’ polluted
Worldwide, around a half of all plastic bottles are burned or dumped in landfills. Panorama interviewed an environmental activist from Uganda who described Lake Victoria as formerly the pearl of Africa, but which has been polluted by plastic bottle waste. Uganda only has a 6% recycling rate. Much of it is burnt, which produces toxins that are causing a rise in respiratory illnesses. In the capital, Kampala, many single mothers and their young children collect bottles for middlemen for a pittance. As the narrator states, they are doing the job that ought to be done by the likes of Coca-Cola.
The team travelled to the idyllic islands of Samoa. Coca-Cola closed its glass bottling plant and now imports plastic bottles instead. Samoa has only a population of 200,000 and has no recycling plant. The consequence of this action is a rise of plastic bottle pollution.
Greenwashing
Coca- Cola have also pledged to produce 50% of bottles from recycled bottles by 2030. They are currently recycling only around 12%. It was stated that virgin plastic is a lot cheaper than recycled because it must be of good quality and be reasonably clean. The failure to recycle is impacting on CO2 emissions, which are causing climate change. The programme referred to the term ‘greenwashing’. This is where corporations claim they are green, but their activities are precisely the opposite.
There has never been a time where socialist measures have been more relevant. The CEOs of the major companies will always put the interests of their shareholders above the needs of the great majority. Time to bring Coca- Cola and its main rivals into public ownership and end the trashing of our planet.
