[ad_1]
When did you decide not to listen anymore?
After the Tisza started to flow and it turned out to be full of PET bottles, substances harmful to the environment, we made the decision to start informing people about the real problems of plastic pollution.
What is all this?
“While plastic pollution is at the forefront, Coca-Cola itself releases so many PET bottles that it is currently unable to fully recycle them due to lack of the necessary technology capabilities and collection systems. The biggest problem is that it tries to cover it up with noisy communication campaigns and international awards, although in the 2020s it will no longer be possible to knock on the door of the circular economy with disposable plastic containers – reads Barnabás Csereklye “Coca is finding the future with PET bottles -Cola ”in Thursday’s blog post.
How did Coca-Cola come about?
It is unacceptable to us that the world’s largest soft drink manufacturer is campaigning for the environment while encouraging consumers to buy so many soft drinks packaged in PET bottles with a simple giveaway. This is difficult to reconcile with the damage done to our environment.
What is the problem with PET bottles?
The world produces approximately 78 million tons of plastic waste, of which only two percent is recycled into the same or a similar product. Four percent will be a depreciated product, such as carpets, garden furniture, T-shirts, which means that about six percent can be recycled. The rest goes to landfills, incinerators or is lost during recycling, and worst of all, most plastics end up in the ocean and forests and do not decompose.
A food grade PET bottle can be re-bottled once or twice.
On the contrary, aluminum can be infinitely recycled and always remains a product of the same quality.
Is that why Hell Energy opted for aluminum?
Six years ago, we decided that aluminum was the packaging of the future, and four years ago we built the only aluminum box factory in Hungary so far. We decided that anything that happens that can be packed in an aluminum box will go there too. In addition to Hell Energy, our other brand, Xixo, makes carbonated soft drinks and iced teas, and we are pleased to announce recently that we will phase out PET bottles in our carbonated product group, although iced tea is still available in PET bottles. , but only one we have filling line, the rest can only be filled with aluminum cans. Additionally, the other day, Nestlé also announced that it would exit its bottled water business in its largest market after Xixo. This is extremely important because we are moving from a linear economy to a circular economy, and aluminum can stay in the cycle forever, and there is even evidence that it will be repackaged in sixty days and put back on store shelves. . Unfortunately, for Coca-Cola, profit is paramount, even more important than protection of the environment, although it is out of they communicate differently.
Quite sharp criticism.
Hell takes that and says Coca-Cola in the eye. We understand that aluminum is expensive and reduces profits, but is that really the most important thing? Should we rather look at what serves the environment, health, sustainability?
By comparison, Coca-Cola transfers responsibility to the consumer, saying that if we don’t collect selectively, a world free of waste cannot be created.
But if we dump so much garbage in society, it drowns in it because in vain we collect it selectively if the minimum proportion can be recycled. We are happy to lead by example, but Coca-Cola should do the same, not just emphasize the importance of protecting the environment. Do you know how many tons of plastic are used each year?
How much?
Numbers behind the plastics
“Half of all plastic ever produced has been made in the last decade and a half.
– The production of 2.3 tons of plastic in 1950 increased exponentially until 2015, when the production had already reached 450 million tons. This is expected to double by 2050.
– Each year 8 million tons of plastic waste go to the oceans, the equivalent of placing 15 full garbage bags per meter on the world’s beaches.
– Plastics also contain various additives to make them stronger or more flexible, for example. Some of these can extend their lifespan so that their degradation can take up to 400 years.
(Source: National Geographic)
According to data from 2018, three million. We divided and multiplied, just like The Guardian, and it turned out that Coca-Cola produces two hundred thousand bottles per minute.
What does that mean?
The fact that only three million tons is such an amount that there is no recycling capacity, infrastructure, redemption system in the world that can process this amount of waste. In addition, they attract our attention by reducing the use of plastic by 600 tons. But what does 600 tons mean compared to 3 million? Why do you express this in your campaign? A large company cannot be proud of that. Furthermore, long-term targets for 2030 have already been set, although they have largely failed to meet their previous commitments. Three years ago, in their sustainability report, the proportion of recycled materials was 27 percent, and they stated that by 2020 it would already reach 40 percent. In contrast, in 2019, the rate fell to 24 percent. And by 2030, they promise to have fifty percent recycled content. All this while encouraging consumers to buy even more PET bottles with their giveaways. However, they could do so by switching to the foil box as they have foil packet packaging too.
To what extent are aluminum cans recycled?
We made the decision to purchase an aluminum raw material that is certified by a third party to be recycled for at least 75 percent of the box. By the way, 75 percent of the aluminum mined, mined, and emitted is still used today.
Is the situation serious?
It is getting heavier. And that’s why we don’t like the fact that Coca-Cola is encouraging consumers about the importance of recycling, knowing exactly that the number of PET bottles it produces and sells does not have the technological capacity to process it. This is how it reaches the oceans, landfills, seeps into our water, we eat it, plastics enter our body, so it is not only important from an environmental point of view, but also for human health. There are also studies on the intake of five grams of plastic per week in the form of microplastics, which are introduced into our bodies. Because it is not a natural material, it is not in the right place and this can cause serious problems. Therefore, the apparent measures do not serve their purpose. The real facts are much more important than that.
What you think?
For example, PET packaging should be dropped into one category and switched to more environmentally friendly packaging, such as aluminum. If you are already using aluminum, be sure to use aluminum with the highest recycled content, and this is not declared by the manufacturer but is audited by a third party company that is neutral, completely independent. We must also set an example for consumers who expect clean and fair communication. Furthermore, it is no longer about what happens in the Himalayas or the Mariana Trench. The problem is at your fingertips, in our case at the Tisza.
We also seek Coca-Cola on the case, promising an answer later.
(Cover image: Barnabás Csereklye, CEO of HELL Energy Magyarország Kft. Photo: János Vajda / MTI)
[ad_2]
