‘People still want plastic bottles’ says Coca-Cola

Bea Perez, the head of sustainability at American drinks giant Coca-Cola, has told reporters that “people still want plastic bottles.”

Ms Perez made the comments when saying that the company would not forgo their use of single-use plastic bottles.

The company has, however, pledged to recycle as many bottles as they produce by the year 2030; a pledge that many environmental campaigners are unhappy about.

They say they the measure does not go far enough, and that people will always throw away their plastic bottles, which will still end up in landfill sites.

Across Africa, glass Coca-Cola bottles are widely used, washed and reused, but the plastic bottle still remains popular for its practicality.

Tanzania banned single use plastics in June last year, joining Rwanda and Kenya in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic pollution.

The United Nations estimates that of the 9 billion tonnes of plastic that has been produced globally, just 9 per cent has been recycled.

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