Vol. II Identifying the World's Top Corporate Plastic Polluters - Break Free From Plastic
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Vol. II Identifying the World’s Top Corporate Plastic Polluters
Executive Summary
On the occasion of World Clean Up Day results reveal the companies polluting
on September 21, 2019, individuals and the most places with the most plastics.
organizations around the world mobilized
their communities to conduct clean-ups For the second year in a row, Coca Cola
and brand audits to hold corporations came in as #1 Top Global Polluter. A total
accountable for the extensive use of single- of 11,732 branded Coca Cola plastics
use and throw-away plastic packaging in were recorded in 37 countries across
their products. Thanks to our members and four continents, more than the next
allies who led and organized efforts on the three top global polluters combined.
ground, Break Free From Plastic engaged
72,541 volunteers in 51 countries to conduct It will be impossible for the world to
484 brand audits. These volunteers collected reduce plastic pollution without these
476,423 pieces of plastic waste, 43% of which brands making major changes to how
was marked with a clear consumer brand. they deliver their products. The time of
relying on single-use packaging is over.
By combining hard data, citizen science, and
community organizing, brand audits have
become a powerful tool for recording and
Break Free From Plastic is
tracking down the companies responsible for calling on the top polluters
polluting the planet with plastic. Participants
catalogued almost 8,000 brands for this
highlighted in this report
year’s global audit. Our analysis of this to lead the way in revealing
year’s data reveals the following as the
2019 Top 10 Global Polluters: Coca Cola,
how much single-use plastic
Nestle, PepsiCo, Mondelez International, they use, setting clear, public,
Unilever, Mars, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive,
Phillip Morris, and Perfetti Van Mille.
measurable targets on how
they will reduce the quantity
We determined the list of “Top Global
Polluters” primarily based on the number
of single-use plastic items
of countries where these companies’ they produce, and finally to
brands were found to be polluting the
environment, while also taking into account
completely reinvent their
the number of plastics collected per brand/ product delivery systems
manufacturer. Together, these metrics
capture both the distribution and depth of
in order to avoid creating
plastic pollution associated with companies more plastic pollution.
and their brands. To put it simply, these
2 3
Acknowledgements Table of Contents
BFFP member organizations played a seminal role in developing
the brand audit tool and piloting the original methodology in Shifting the Narrative on the Top 5
2017. This report and the data within it would not have been Methodology and Limitations, p.11 “Marine Plastic Polluters”, p.32
possible without the foundational work of the Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Mother Earth Foundation, and the
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (Chennai, India).
We are also grateful for the contributions from 5 Gyres, Greenpeace
Southeast Asia, Ecowaste Coalition, Health Care Without Harm - Asia, War on
Waste Negros Oriental (Dumaguete, Philippines), and Yayasan Pengembangan
Biosains dan Bioteknologi (Bandung, Indonesia) for their contributions in
helping to improve the brand audit tool, methodology, and process.
Thank you to every single individual volunteer and over 200 participating
Zero Waste City Solutions, p.50 Policy Solutions, p.62
organizations that conducted brand audits, both large and small, and
submitted their data to be featured in this report. Your hard work in hosting
cleanups, recording the brands, and submitting your data is the backbone
of this report and we deeply appreciate your invaluable participation.
We would also like to acknowledge and extend our sincerest gratitude
Executive Summary 3
to the Flotilla Foundation and Plastic Solutions Fund for their Acknowledgements 4
financial support that made this brand audit coordination and report
publication possible. Finally, thank you to the entire BFFP Brand
Introduction 6
Audit report team for their diligence and commitment to delivering Plastic, Health, Climate, and Poverty 8
reliable data, narrative, and graphic designs for this report.
Methodology and Limitations 11
Cover Image: © Marco Saroldi/WasteLess Auroville The Polluters 14
Back Cover Image: © Starunska Iryna/Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine
Voices of Resistance: #BrandAudit2019 Around the World 42
Published under responsibility of Greenpeace Philippines The Solutions 46
30 Scout Tuason Street Room 201 JGS Building, Quezon
City, 1103 Metro Manila, PHILIPPINES
Conclusion 68
https://www.greenpeace.org/philippines/ Appendix 72
4 5
Graphic credit: Greenpeace
again. We cannot recycle our way out
Introduction of the plastic problem, and companies
that are claiming it is the solution are
simply avoiding making real change.
Plastic is everywhere in our lives, and
so too are the negative effects of its The Break Free From Plastic movement
production, use and disposal. Production is civil societies’ response to this growing
of plastic has skyrocketed over the last crisis. More than 1800 organisations from
few decades, and looks set to continue around the world have joined forces to
with huge investments being made in new work on solutions together. Countries in
plastic production facilities. We don’t have the Global South have often been blamed
any way to sustainably dispose of all this for the plastic pollution problem, but
plastic in our lives; landfilling it, burning the Break Free From Plastic movement
it, recycling it or just dumping it are all is revealing that it is mainly companies
problematic. With so much plastic in the based in Europe and the United States
world, and so much designed to be used that are producing massive quantities of
only once, it is no wonder that we are seeing single-use plastic packaging and spreading
severe environmental and social effects. it all over the world. By collecting waste
from beaches, streets, homes, offices and
Fast moving consumer goods companies parks and then counting what brands are
rely on plastic to deliver their products on that packaging, the movement is holding
to us, their business models depend on fast moving consumer goods companies
this cheap material and not having to accountable for their packaging. Only
pay for its collection or disposal. The by highlighting the real culprits can we
result of this is that communities around push them to change their packaging and
the world are left to shoulder the cost of destructive throwaway business model.
irresponsible company decisions to produce
huge quantities of plastic that is used Ultimately companies need to rethink how
just once. Plastic is accumulating in our products are delivered to the consumer.
oceans, streets, rivers, landfills and soil. In the transition to avoiding throwaway
plastic, replacing virgin plastic with non-
Many of the top global plastic polluting toxic, recycled (and recyclable) plastic only
#breakfreefromplastic
companies have made commitments to has a limited role in addressing plastic
reduce the impact of their products by overproduction. There is no silver bullet,
promising to make them ‘100% recyclable’. one-size-fits-all option for new reusable/
Making a product recyclable does not mean refillable packaging that will be applicable
it is actually recycled. Recycling is not the to every company, product or geography.
magic solution it is often claimed to be.
This is because plastic polymer chains However, as detailed in the Greenpeace
get shorter when they are recycled, which USA report “Throwing Away the Future:
BRANDED VOLUME II
means the quality deteriorates. A plastic How Companies Still Have It Wrong on
bottle can only be recycled a few times Plastic Pollution ‘Solutions’,” big brands
and in reality most recycled plastic is made and retailers urgently need to prioritize
into clothing, construction materials or investment into the delivery of reuse and
other products that will not get recycled refill options that meet the following criteria:
6 7
Plastic, Health, Climate companies are betting on plastic use
continuing to grow and are investing
Poverty
and Poverty in new plastic production facilities. The environmental and health effects
of plastic production and pollution
The climate effects of plastic start at the disproportionately impact the world’s
extraction of fossil fuels. Extracting oil poorest communities. Poverty is also often
The world’s use of plastic is deeply interwoven
and gas is a dirty business, and releases used as a justification for some of the worst
with many of the problems facing our planet
significant greenhouse gas emissions. forms of plastic packaging such as single-
today. Plastic production, use and disposal
Refining fossil fuels to become plastic is serve multi layered sachets. Companies
cause harm that goes far beyond the pollution
incredibly energy intensive. The way we claim that they are ‘pro-poor’ by allowing
of our oceans. This chapter explores
dispose of plastic also contributes to carbon those on low daily incomes to purchase
briefly how plastic is interlinked with public
emissions. Incineration creates the most goods such as shampoo and soy sauce.
health, climate breakdown, and poverty.
greenhouse gasses compared to landfilling
or recycling and is set to grow as the Over the past few decades, consumer
preferred plastic disposal method. According goods packaged in plastic have flooded
Health to a report by CIEL, the production and into countries that have limited waste
incineration of plastic will in 2019 produce management infrastructure to deal with it.
The evidence is growing that plastic is
more than 850 million metric tonnes of In places where until very recently all waste
affecting human health in a multitude of
greenhouse gasses, equal to the emissions was made of natural materials and could
ways and at every stage in its production Some of these chemicals are known to change
of 189 five-hundred-megawatt coal plants. be burned or buried safely, people have
and use. Producing plastic from fossil hormone systems and some are carcinogenic.
fuels causes air pollution that has been The chemical additives in plastic are known
linked to a range of health problems for to leach into the food that it packages and
communities that live near these facilities. some of them are harmful at very low doses.
The chemicals that are released can cause We have often thought of plastic as being
people to suffer breathing, skin and eye completely safe and clean but it’s becoming
problems, and can cause long term changes clearer that this is often not the case.
to reproductive, digestive, neurological and
respiratory systems. A lot of plastic today is
made from ethane from hydraulic fracturing
Climate
(fracking) in the United States. Studies are As the vast majority of plastic is made
#breakfreefromplastic
now linking fracking to a variety of serious from fossil fuels, it is common sense that
health impacts. Mothers living near fracking plastic use is contributing to the climate
sites have a higher risk of giving birth to crisis. In fact, plastic production, use and
their babies prematurely. Fracking also disposal is responsible for such a significant
poses a danger to safe and clean drinking amount of greenhouse gas emissions that
water supplies in the surrounding area. if left unchecked, it threatens our ability to
keep global warming to under 1.5 degrees
Once the plastic product has been made, celsius. If we continue using plastic in
BRANDED VOLUME II
we know that harmful additives in plastic the same way, by 2050 emissions from
can leach from the plastic into our food, plastic use and production could reach
drinking water and bodies. Different over 56 gigatones a year, which represents
chemicals added to plastic can result in 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget.
different colours, flexibility and strength. Despite the global backlash against plastic,
8 9
few options to dispose of plastic. Plastic
waste builds up in the streets, vacant lots,
drainage channels and waterways as there
Methodology
is nowhere else to put it. This increases the
likelihood of flooding, and has been shown
to increase mosquito-borne diseases such
Changes from last year’s methodology
as malaria and dengue fever. A report by
Tearfund estimated that between 400,000 2018 was Break Free From Plastic’s first year mobilizing people around the world to conduct a global
and 1 million people die each year in brand audit. In 2019, we made a few small changes to improve and incorporate new additions. These
low- and middle-income countries because updates were reflected in our new Brand Audit Toolkit, available online to the public. While our basic
of diseases related to mismanaged waste. methodology remained consistent, we added a few new categories and encouraged people to get
While countries need to increase waste creative in choosing their sites. We invited participants to consider auditing their homes and offices,
management infrastructure, consumer goods as well as locations near plastic production facilities, to highlight that plastic pollutes at all stages of
companies should take responsibility for its life cycle.
placing products on the market in places
that cannot safely dispose of them.
n many countries in the Global South, the
burden of waste management falls on the In September 2019, on the occasion of Brand audit participants gathered single-
poorest and most vulnerable in society. World Clean-up Day, Break Free From use plastic waste from their selected site,
Waste pickers sort through rubbish dumps Plastic members in 51 countries united to recorded the total volume of plastics
looking for recyclable plastic such as conduct brand audits of single-use plastic collected, and used the standardized data
PET bottles that they can sell. This job waste using a standard methodology. card to identify the waste’s composite
is dangerous and informal, and often Hundreds of individuals, groups of categories: brand names, item descriptions,
done by women. Waste pickers often The links between plastic and poverty volunteers, and organizations signed up to types of products, types of materials,
have few rights, but play an important and not restricted to the Global South. take their clean-up plans to a higher level layers, and local recyclability. Participants
role in waste sorting and recycling. Infrastructure for plastic production and and hold plastic polluters accountable were asked to include both branded and
disposal is disproportionality located for the seemingly unending cycle of unbranded items found, and to write
Recycling plastic in the Global North is close to communities of lower income. In plastic pollution. Leading up to this day, “unknown” if brands were not clearly
rarely economical because of its low value the United States, 79% of incinerators for BFFP provided a series of online webinar marked. Item description provided space
and higher labour costs. Because of this, waste are located within 3 miles of lower trainings (in English, Spanish, French, for participants to write in whether the
#breakfreefromplastic
rich countries have been exporting plastic income and minority communities. and Portuguese) to guide participants item was a cup, bottle, bag, fragment,
waste to countries with much lower labour throughout their planning process. All etc. Types of products were divided
costs for decades. China used to take the As we can see from this brief overview, participated voluntarily, and some groups into 7 predetermined categories: food
bulk of this waste until it closed its doors plastic production use and disposal is qualified for microgrants ranging up to packaging, personal care, household
to this waste in 2018, and now plastic a social justice and climate problem. 500 USD to help cover the expenses of products, smoking materials, fishing gear,
from Europe and America is shipped to Simply improving waste management brand audit materials and event hosting. packing materials, or other/unknown.
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and anywhere and recycling will not change the huge Types of materials were also divided into
else where pay is low enough to make it greenhouse gas emissions associated with Participants were directed to use our new 7 predetermined categories of the main
BRANDED VOLUME II
worth while. This has resulted in whole plastic production, and it will not help those toolkit, this data card and accompanying types of plastic: PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE,
villages becoming swamped in plastic that in low income communities who suffer visual guide. The toolkit page was PP, PS, O. Lastly, participants recorded
is dumped, waste that has come from from poor air quality from incinerators. made available in a dozen different whether an item was single-layer or multi-
rich countries and been dumped on poor Only a dramatic reduction in plastic use translations, while BFFP volunteers layer, referring to composite packaging.
communities and counted as recycled. will address all of these issues at once. provided additional translations of
the data card and visual guide.
10 11
Limitations
This report is based on self-reported data cannot claim to be fully representative
submitted by volunteers in diverse cultures of all plastic polluters, as there are more
and environments around the world. We brands than are captured in this report.
relied on their local efforts, and while some It is possible, therefore, that some of
intentional effort was made to invite new those brands produce even more plastic
participants, the majority of volunteers pollution than those listed in this report.
were self-selected. Furthermore, we left Nevertheless, taking into account the
the site location process entirely up to total number of countries represented
these volunteers, so there is a wide variety in this year’s brand audits, the results
of locations represented. Nonetheless, the should give us a good indication of the
brand audits data collected across these most common brands found in clean-ups
locations remains only a sample. The sample around the world. Lastly, we did not accept
is not evenly distributed globally, and brand audit data from participants that
skews more heavily toward places with a did not use our standard methodology
strong BFFP member presence. This report or data submission platforms.
Photo credits: © Marco Saroldi / WasteLess #wastelessindia
In WasteLess Auroville’s After recording their data, participants submitted this data
brand audit in India, over
to the Break Free From Plastic team in one of three ways:
52% of audited plastic waste
was non-recyclable multilayer a web-based app called TrashBlitz, an online form on the
packaging used by corporates BFFP website, or by emailing us a completed Excel template.
to sell biscuits, chocolates, The submitted self-reported data was reviewed, cleaned,
chewing gum, mouth
and confirmed before the final publication of this report.
fresheners and candies.
Most of these products are
specifically designed to be
eaten on the go and sold in a
Why Volume and Not Weight?
country which does not have
The reason we asked for volume instead of weight is
a sufficient number of public
waste bins or developed waste because plastics often don’t weigh very much, but they
management infrastructure to do take up a lot of space in our environment. Because
deal with such waste streams. of that, we wanted to know how much SPACE the plastic
takes up in cleanups and brand audits around the world.
12 13
Photo credits: © Marco Saroldi / WasteLess #wastelessindia
PART 1 Brand Audit Background
The BFFP
Brand Audit
bee • eff • eff • pee •
noun
Identifying, counting, and documenting the brands found on plastic and
other collected packaging waste to help identify the corporations respon-
sible for pollution.
Polluters
brand • au • dit
Example: In 2019, Break Free From Plastic members around the world conducted
/bi-ef-ef-pi brænd ΄ɔd¡t/ brand audits to record the names of plastic producers trashing their communities.
Brand audits are a powerful tool to challenge it would only be ‘down-cycled’ to a lower
the corporate narrative that plastic pollution quality product and will not be recycled a
is a waste management issue caused by second time. The world only needs so many
individual consumers. For years, the plastic park benches and water pipes!
industry has worked tirelessly to promote
the idea that if only we just recycled better, Meanwhile, plastic producers plan to
we would solve the problem of plastic quadruple production by 2050 fueled by
pollution. For decades, the plastics industry cheap fossil fuel extraction like shale gas.
has lobbied against proposed legislation Much of this plastic boom will be used to
by carefully shifting responsibility for their make single-use packaging to be placed on
waste away from companies and onto the market in the fast growing economies
consumers, epitomized by anti-littering of Asia and Africa. This single-use plastic
campaigns that have been running for production model is broken, and it’s time
decades and funded by companies. to replace it with alternatives that promote
social justice, preserve our environment, and
For years, the plastic industry has Unfortunately, recycling as the solution just
isn’t true.
protect our future.
worked tirelessly to promote the Of the total amount of plastic produced
When the Break Free From Plastic
movement was founded in September 2016,
idea that if only we just recycled since the 1950’s, only 9% has actually been
recycled globally, with the rest being burned,
its members vowed to mobilize around a
common mission to massively reduce single-
better, we would solve the problem landfilled or left polluting our environment. use plastic at the source: plastic producers.
While many companies have made The result was the development of brand
of plastic pollution. commitments to increase the ‘recyclability’ audits, a citizen science initiative to record
of their products, they are still designing the names of these producers trashing
plastic that is either too low quality to communities worldwide with their single-use
recycle or impossible to recycle due to plastic waste. With hard data on our side,
Unfortunately, recycling as the the design, chemical additives or hard-to- corporations can no longer frame the issue
seperate layers. Even if all plastic packaging as one of only consumer responsibility - the
solution just isn’t true. were collected to be recycled, in most cases numbers just don’t add up.
14 15
The
PART 1
Polluters
Locations
Thanks to our members who mobilized
on the ground, Break Free From
Plastic engaged 72,451 volunteers in
51 countries to conduct 484 brand
audits. These volunteers collected
476,423 pieces of plastic waste, 43%
of which was marked with a clear
consumer brand. These brand audits
Asia were concentrated between August
North Europe 1 - September 30, 2019 and most took
America place on World Cleanup Day (Sep 21).
Atlantic
Ocean TOTAL NUM B E R
Pacific O F CO NTI N E N T S
Africa Ocean
6
TOTAL NUM B E R
O F CO UNTR IE S
South
Indian
Ocean
51
America Australia TOTAL B RA N D
#breakfreefromplastic
AUDI T EVE N T S
484
TOTAL NUM B E R
O F VO LUNT E E R S
72,451
BRANDED VOLUME II
TOTAL P I EC E S O F
P L ASTI C AU D IT E D
Plastics collected per country
476,423
16 17
Winners of the Most Volunteers Award
G O L D M E DA L
Shoutout to
TAI WAN
31,198 volunteers
Led by Let’s Do It Taiwan
this year’s Photo credit: © Let’s Do It Taiwan
SI LVE R M E DA L
I NDO NES I A
biggest brand 7,520 volunteers
Led by Trash Hero Indonesia
audits!
Sincerest admiration and appreciation to the volunteers of
Ambon, Indonesia who submitted their brand audit data
despite getting hit with 6.5-magnitude earthquake. They were
evacuated and had been living in a camp with lots of limitations,
but they nonetheless returned to their houses to retrieve the
printed brand audit forms and submit their data. Thank you for
Photo credit: © Trash Hero Indonesia your bravery, courage, and commitment. You are true heroes!
B RO N Z E M E DA L
B HU TAN
5,300 volunteers
Led by Green Bhutan Waste Management
#breakfreefromplastic
This report relies on the hard work, and we deeply
Photo credit: © Chogyal Ihamo
efforts of thousands of people appreciate the commitment
who diligently mobilized their of everyone who participated
networks in communities in this important citizen Winner of the Most Plastic Collected Award
around the world to take part science initiative! While each G O L D M E DA L
in Break Free From Plastic’s and every single volunteer
BRANDED VOLUME II
NI G ERI A
#BrandAudit2019 initiative. deserves a round of applause, 127,762 plastic items collected
Cleanups and brand audits a few exceptional groups merit Photo credit: © Avaa Terka, Led by We Care Network and Rural
can be time consuming a standing ovation. Rural Communities Development Initiative
Communities Development Initiative
18 19The
PART 1
Polluters
Photo credit: © Greenpeace / Ex-Press / Michael Würtenberg
Not surprisingly, cigarette butts, beer
cans and coffee cups topped the list.
Of the big brands, Coca-Cola, Nestlé,
and Swiss retailer Coop ranked highest,
followed by other global brands Mars,
Danone, RedBull, Mondelez, McDonalds
and Starbucks. Swiss retailers also figured
prominently, with Coop followed by
Migros, Denner, and Lidl.
A recent report by Greenpeace USA
exposed that companies like Nestlé are
Taking brand audits to investing in false solutions like replacing
plastic with paper or bioplastics,
relying more heavily on an already
Nestlé’s doorstep overburdened and broken global
recycling system, and even harmful
Photo credit: © Greenpeace / Ex-Press / Michael Würtenberg
chemical recycling and incineration.
Nestlé is one of the biggest fast moving a very tidy city, so the volunteers were
consumer good (FMCG) corporations in uncertain what, if anything, they would find.
the world, with a massive plastic footprint. But plastic pollution is everywhere, and the
In 2018, Nestlé was found to be the third
biggest plastic polluter in global brand
area around Nestlé’s global headquarters
was no exception. Despite the fact that the
The real problem is the
audits. Spoiler alert: In 2019, Nestlé rose
in ranking to #2 top global polluter!
walkway around the public lake and nearby
recreational park are cleaned daily by street
continuation of the throwaway
sweepers and waste patrols—and sometimes culture which is at the core of
#breakfreefromplastic
Following a global campaign earlier this by Nestlé employees themselves—
year to push the company to reduce
its production of single-use plastic
Greenpeace Switzerland’s volunteers found
quite a load of waste.
the company’s business model.
packaging, Greenpeace Switzerland
decided to conduct a brand audit near
the company’s global headquarters. The
Within 2 hours the
company claims it’s taking steps to combat volunteers collected at least
the plastic pollution crisis, but what’s Greenpeace International is urging
BRANDED VOLUME II
the situation in its own neighborhood?
8 bags of garbage, or about Nestlé to end its reliance on throwaway
16.5 kg of discarded single- packaging and turn instead to massive
Nestlé’s global headquarters are located on investment in delivery systems based
the shore of Lake Geneva in the small city
use packaging—a total of on reusable and refillable systems as
of Vevey, Switzerland. Vevey is generally 1,124 items! part of the #ReuseRevolution.
20 21The
PART 1
Polluters
SP OT L I G H T N E TH E RL A N DS
TOP
1 4
P IECES O F P L AST IC 1,083
Top Polluting Brands COUNT RIES 23
2019 Top 5 Global Polluters: Coca-Cola, Nestlé, P I E CE S O F P L AST I C 1 1 ,7 32
5
P IECES O F P L AST IC 3,328
PepsiCo, Mondelez International, and Unilever. CO UN T R I E S 37 COUNT RIES 21
6
2 P IECES O F P L AST IC 543
COUNT RIES 20
P I E CE S O F P L AST I C 4 ,84 6
CO UN T R I E S 31 7
P IECES O F P L AST IC 1,160
COUNT RIES 18
3 8
P IECES O F P L AST IC 642
COUNT RIES 18
P I E CE S O F P L AST I C 3,36 2
CO UN T R I E S 2 8
9
P IECES O F P L AST IC 2,239
COUNT RIES 17
For the second year in a row, brand audit
data revealed Coca Cola as #1 Top Global
Polluter. A total of 11,732 branded Coca 10
Cola plastics were recorded across 4
continents in 37 countries, more than the P IECES O F P L AST IC 1,090
next three top global polluters combined. COUNT RIES 17
These results are ranked primarily methodology. We also factored in the total
according to widespread global distribution number of branded items recorded that
“There are plenty of people out there in the world
- in other words, by the number of were produced by these companies as a who would like to see plastic go away. We know
countries where brand audits reported secondary metric. Together, these “Top 5
finding these companies. Our priority Global Polluters” emerged, reflecting both
that’s not going to happen … We’re all going to be
metric was to examine these companies’ depth and breadth. To put it simply, these using plastic for years and years, right?”
presence across the highest number of results reveal the companies polluting the
countries, to be consistent with last year’s most places with the most plastics. - Ben Jordan, Senior Director of Environmental Policy Coca-Cola
22 23The
PART 1
Polluters
This scatterplot graph maps out the
top polluter in terms of the number of
countries where this brand was found
(vertical Y axis), as well as in terms of the
number of plastics collected (horizontal
X axis).
The Coca-Cola Company Presenting both metrics in one visual is
useful to highlight brands with a more
significant global distribution versus
those that have a sizable impact but
are contained to just one country. For
Nestlé instance, Coca Cola (upper middle) is a
PepsiCo global producer found in 37 countries,
while La Doo (bottom right) is a highly
local producer that pumps out a huge
Mondelez International amount of single-use plastics in one
Count of Country
Unilever specific state in Nigeria.
What’s the dotted line?
What is particularly strong in this
representation is the dotted line that
distinguishes the 99th percentile.
Anything above and right of the two
#breakfreefromplastic
dotted lines mean 99% of all other
brands fall below it, highlighting
Barna La Doo the significant scale of difference
between those top producers that
emerge in the top 1%.
Total Count
BRANDED VOLUME II
24 25Top Polluting Brands per Continent
1 Coca-Cola
2 PepsiCo
3 Heineken
1 Nestlé 1 Nestlé
2 Solo Cup Company 2 Coca-Cola
(Dart Container Corporation) 3 PepsiCo
3 Starbucks
1 Coca-Cola
2 Colgate-Palmolive
3 Unilever
“Top Regional
Polluter” is based
primarily on the
number of countries 1 PepsiCo
per continent where 2 Coca-Cola
brand audits recorded
3 Ferrero Woolsworth
finding this company.
Group Group
Coca-Cola is
consistently top 3
in both regional and
global categories.
26 27The
PART 1
Polluters
SP OT L I G H T N E TH E RL A N DS
SP OT L I G HT
NETHERL ANDS
RESULT S
World Cleanup Day 2019 was a big success in the Netherlands! Over
T Y P E O F P L ASTI C
15,000 people participated in over 1,500 cleanups and with the
help of the Litterati App over 77,000 items were registered this year.
Single-use plastic made up 61% of what people recorded finding.
Top 3 most common types of plastic found: Across the Netherlands, Red Bull emerged as the top polluting brand
followed by Heineken, McDonalds, Marlboro, and Coca Cola.
PET, LDPE, and O contributed to 93% of
the type of plastic picked up
Photo credit © Starunska Iryna/Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine
While there are close to 50 different types LDPE: Low-density polyethylene
of plastic worldwide, we typically group Clear, white, or colored plastic;
them in 7 major categories. These different often used for bags, plastic trays,
types of plastic range widely in terms of holders, dispensers, etc
quality, health risks, and recyclability.
PP: Polypropylene
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate Hard but flexible plastic; often used for
(Ex: Clear or tinted plastic; often used food containers or tubs, bottle caps, etc.
for drink bottles, cups, pouches, etc.)
PS: Polystyrene
HDPE: High-density polyethylene Rigid, brittle plastic OR foam; often used for
(Ex: White or colored plastic; often used cups, take-out food containers, lids, etc.
for product bottles, jars, milk jugs, etc.)
O: Other / unknown
PVC: Polyvinyl chloride Bioplastics, products containing
Durable plastic, hard or rubbery; often other plastics or types of materials,
used for building materials, toys, including textiles, etc.
shower curtains, etc. Graphic credit: World Cleanup Day Netherlands / Plastic Soup Foundation
28 29The
PART 1
Polluters
SP OT L I G H T N E TH E RL A N DS
SP OT L I G HT
WATER SACHETS I N NI G ERI A
RESULT S
Sachet water, referred to locally as “pure “Sachets (pure water) were
T Y P E S O F I TE MS
water,” is a major source of drinking invented by West African
water for many middle and low income
Nigerians. Essentially a small sealed
entrepreneurs to address the
Top 3 most common plastic items found: polypropylene plastic sleeve, sachet water problem of poor access to
has grown to become a primary source of water as a cheap alternative
plastic bags, sachets, and plastic bottles. drinking water for many urban households to water bottles. There are
in West Africa. According to Justin Stoler,
a sachet water research expert based
over 250 companies involved
at the University of Miami, it is now “an in its production in the city of
important component of regional water Jos alone. Sachets constitute
security,” although increasingly exacerbates the biggest content of
“issues related to governance, quality
59,168 control, environmental pollution, and
environmental waste, clogging
social justice.” The first water sachets were drains, breeding mosquitoes
P L AST I C BAGS
developed in the 1990s and since then have and localizing floods. There is
grown into a highly profitable industry. an urgent need for sustainable
Originally celebrated for their ability to
53,369 deliver cheap, clean water to areas without
solutions to this challenge.”
reliable access to drinking water, people – Benson Dotun Fasanya,
have grown increasingly concerned about Centre for EarthWorks (CFEW)
SAC HETS
sachet water’s unintended consequences
to their health and the environment.
In just two brand audits in Nigeria,
volunteers from We Care Network and Rural
Communities Development Initiative together
counted a total of 28,742 sachets just from
29,142 one company: La Doo. In addition to La
Doo, these volunteers also recorded 13,430
water sachets from another company called
P L AST IC BOT T LES
Barna. According to one brand audit leader,
who preferred to remain anonymous, La Doo
is a major water factory in the Nigerian state
of Benue. She elaborated that “plastic bags
and empty water sachets are everywhere
[but] I was encouraged to do something
when I learned of #breakfreefromplastic.
It was challenging, but I am optimistic that
Photo Credit: © Terkaa Avaa, we will one day get to where a legislation
Rural Communities Development Initiative will be passed to address this issue.”
30 31The
PART 1
Polluters
Photo credits: © Rochelle de Leon, Waste 360
In fact, even countries with a strong track When people in the Global North throw
record for recycling have been sending their something “away,” much of it ends up
mixed waste to Southeast Asia, supposedly in the Global South because there is no
to be recycled but in reality much of it such thing as “away.” The people who
has to be burned or dumped. It is easy to live in countries on the receiving end of
find American and European packaging this unjust cycle have had enough. Break
polluting the countryside of Southeast Free From Plastic members in these
Asia. While being blamed for causing countries took part in this year’s brand
the plastic problem, these countries are audit, and here’s what they found.
effectively paying the price for multinational
corporations’ reliance on single-use plastics.
Shifting the Narrative on the China*
Top 5 “Marine Plastic Polluters” NO. OF
AUDITS
TOP BRANDS BY COUNT
OF P L ASTIC COL L ECTED
48
TOTAL P L ASTIC
Recent scientific research has suggested that significant COL L ECTED
concentrations of plastic waste in the world’s oceans
comes from a small handful of coastal countries in Asia. 3,459 TIngyi Holding Corp
The team of U.S. and Australian researchers, led by Jenna
Jambeck, calculated this largely based on population size TOTAL NO. OF
and the quality of waste management to estimate which VOLUNTEERS
countries contribute “the greatest mass of uncaptured
waste available to become plastic marine debris.”
1,439
TOP ITEM
Their conclusion: DESCRIPTION
China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka are bottles
the largest sources of land-based marine plastic pollution. TOP MATERIAL
But these results do not tell the whole story. Thanks to Break T YP E
O & PET
Free From Plastic brand audit data collected in 2017 and 2018,
we now know that the real drivers of much of this plastic
*all references to China in this report refer
pollution in Asia are actually multinational corporations to Mainland China where 48 brand audit
headquartered in Europe and the United States. events took place
32 33Photo Credits: © Daru Setyorini/ECOTON
Indonesia
NO . OF
AUDITS
32
TOTAL P L AST I C TOP I T E M D E SC R I PTI O N
COLLECTE D
plastic straws, plastic bags,
13,309 single-use plastics
TOTAL NO. OF TOP BRA N DS BY CO U N T
VOLUNTE E RS OF P L AST I C COL LE CTE D
6,850 PT Malaysia
Indah Tbk
TO P MAT E RIAL T Y P E
O, PET, LDPE HI G HL I G HT
Waste Assessment and Brand Audits
in Gresik, Indonesia
Contributing Author: Daru Setyorini, ECOTON
The Philippines Environmental groups in Indonesia are
already taking strong action to manage
their waste locally. ECOTON is developing
by developing a decentralized solid waste
management system that shares the burden
of waste management with all citizens,
a Zero Waste City model in Wringinanom involving community participation, providing
Village of Gresik City Indonesia. They did economic benefit for the local community
NO. OF TOP BRA N DS BY CO U N T
AUDIT S
waste assessment and brand audits (WABA) and improving environmental health.
OF P L AST I C COLLE CTE D
of solid waste from 62 households as part
20 of baseline study to assess and plan a zero The waste collected over the 8 days of the
waste city model for the community. Over 8 WABA totaled 773.7kg and the average
TOTAL P L AST I C days, 26 volunteers continuously collected waste generated per household was 1.5kg/
COLLECTE D and segregated waste into 45 different types. day. Organic waste composed 67% of
37,016 Their aim is to develop a sustainable
total waste, largely consisting of moist
kitchen waste which is typically used to
decentralized solid waste management feed chickens. The inorganic waste was
TOTAL NO. OF
VOLUNTE E RS
system at the village level in order to dominated by single-use sanitary residuals
prevent solid waste leakage or dumping such as diapers, menstrual pads, tissues,
3,751 into the environment, especially rivers wet wipes, and cotton buds (adding up to
and beaches in the Brantas River Basin. 11.6% of total waste generated), followed by
TO P MAT E RIAL T Y P E TOP I T E M D E SCR I PTI O N The Zero Waste City model is an effective recyclable plastic waste at 9.1% and residual
O, LDPE, PET plastic bags, sachets, plastic film way to prevent river and marine pollution non-recyclable plastic waste at 4.9%.
34 35Vietnam Comparing the Results
NO . OF
AUDITS
TOP BRA N DS BY CO U N T
OF P L AST I C COL LE CTE D
2018 marked the first year
Break Free From Plastic
In 2019, we had over seven
4 members mobilized on a
global scale to track down
times as many volunteers
TOTAL P L AST I C
plastic polluters through
a worldwide brand audit.
mobilize to record over
COLLECTE D
10,887 Kaya
Industries
The data that emerged set
the stage for more people
double the amount of
demanding more corporate
accountability in more places.
single-use plastic than
TOTAL NO. OF
VOLUNTE E RS
Vietnam Dairy Products Thanks to the success of last
year’s global brand audit, this
in 2018. And the Top 3
400 year’s audit was the biggest
Global Polluters remain
citizen science effort to record
TO P MAT E RIAL T Y P E
O, PET, LDPE
TOP I T E M D E SC R I PTI O N
plastic bags, bottles, clear plastic packaging
corporate plastic polluter
responsibility ever seen!
exactly the same.
Sri Lanka
NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
60
51
NO. OF TOP BRA N DS BY CO U N T
AUDIT S OF P L AST I C COL LE CTE D
2 42
#breakfreefromplastic
40
TOTAL P L AST I C
CO LLE CTE D
3,871 20
TOTAL NO. OF
BRANDED VOLUME II
VOLUNTE E RS
48
0
TO P MAT E RIAL T Y P E TOP I T E M D E SC R I PTI O N
LDPE, PP, O wrappers, cups, bottles 2018 2019
36 37The
PART 1
Polluters
NUMBER O F VOLU N T E E R S P IECES OF P L ASTIC AUDITED
2018
NE ARLY 10,000
2018 18 7,8 5 1
2019 2019 476,423
OVE R 72,000
10 0 K 200K 30 0 K 400K 500K
NUMBER O F CL E A N U P S/ BRA N D AU D I T S TOP 3 POL LU TERS NUMB ER O F CO UNTRI ES
W HERE TO P P O LLU TER
WAS FO UND
2018
484* 40 of 42 participating
countries (more than 75% of
2019
9,2 16 PCS 5 ,75 0 PCS 2 ,95 0 PCS all 239 participating cleanups
40 countries 36 countries 31 countries
239
reported finding Coca-Cola)
2018 2019
37 of 51 participating
countries (52% of all 484
participating cleanups
*We received over 484 brand audit event submissions, but could not accept (1) data that deviated from our 11,732 PCS 4 ,8 4 6 PCS 3,36 2 PCS
37 countries 31 countries 28 countries reported finding Coca-Cola)
standard methodology and/or submission platforms, or (2) data that was incomplete or otherwise compromised.
38 39The
PART 1
Polluters
SP OT L I G H T N E TH E RL A N DS
CO UNTRI ES W HERE I TEM S W ERE FO U N D
RESULT S
CO M M E N T ON “ U N BRA N DE D”
While the focus of this report is to reveal the brands responsible
for trashing the planet, you’ll notice that we still include plastic
waste that is “unbranded.” You might be wondering, what do we
mean by “unbranded?”
Much of the plastic waste we find littering this brand is no longer responsible for
our communities has been there for so long what they produced. In fact, we think they
that the brand’s label has washed away or should be held accountable for as long as
faded beyond recognition. But whether it’s this plastic lasts —forever.
a new Coca Cola bottle or an old plastic
fragment lying on a beach, every piece of This year, we counted over 470,000 pieces
plastic we find has a producer behind it. And of plastic trash around the world. 43%
this company has a name, an address, and of these actually had a brand identified,
a CEO. Just because a company’s brand while the remaining 57% no longer had a Map 1. Size of the circles are based on total # of Coca Cola plastics collected in each country.
label may have faded away, doesn’t mean recognizable brand.
Branded: 43 %
Unbranded: 57 %
Most of what we found and recorded was unbranded plastic produced by irresponsible
companies - almost 8,000, to be exact. We intentionally include this “unbranded” plastic
because these polluting companies have gotten away with avoiding responsibility for far too
long, and we will no longer allow it. Whether or not the brand label still exists, that producer’s
responsibility remains.
Map 2. Color intensity is based on the total number of Coca Cola plastics collected.
40 41#BrandAudit2019
#BrandAudit2019
Around The World
This year’s brand audit was loud on From coastal cleanups to trash collection
social media. Break Free From Plastic’s at public spaces, big organizations and
official event hashtag, #BrandAudit, individual citizens documented their audits
was used hundreds of times across exposing brands that contribute to the
three social media platforms (Facebook, plastic pollution in their communities.
Instagram, and Twitter) from the time
the first brand audit began on September
21, 2019, up to the days after the
audits were finished and data has been
forwarded to Break Free From Plastic.
Philippines
In Baler, Aurora, Philippines, Ocean
Care Movement lead a coastal cleanup
where they collected an assortment of
personal items and branded trash.
Indonesia
Greenpeace Indonesia’s tweet (and
Instagram post) clearly captures an
offending brand, with a packaging that is
decades old. The post was retweeted 162
times on Twitter, while a related Instagram
post by the organization garnered 13,881
likes. Brand audits conducted in Indonesia
revealed both local and international
manufacturers contribute to the problem.
42 43Cameroon Australia
SDG Cameroon organized a group of
@plasticfreemermaid organized a cleanup in
young people for a city cleanup. Their
Byron Bay, NSW, Australia. Her Instagram
movement captured the curiosity of the
account is dedicated to educating the public
locals, hopefully bringing attention to the
about the perils of single-use plastic.
growing trash problem of the country.
Australia
Lebanon
Alliance for a Living Ocean’s beach and bay
cleanup at Barnegat Light in New Jersey,
Recycle Lebanon along with Save
United States collected 597 bottle caps
Kfaraabida and Beirut RiverLESS called
in addition to almost 50 pounds of trash.
on manufacturers to #ecodesign their
Comments on the post offered some great
packaging and to put human and
recycling ideas for these pieces of plastic!
environmental wellness before profit.
Their Instagram post reveals branded
packaging for food and hygiene products.
Nepal Switzerland
Himalayan Heroes Nepal submitted a Greenpeace Switzerland’s brand audit
photo of their brand audit event to Break identified brands that ranked pretty high
Free From Plastic. A quick look at the in last year’s tally. On their Instagram
results exposes big brands that contribute Stories, they showed their march to
to the plastic pollution in the area. the Nestle headquarters to display a
portion of what they collected.
44 45PART 2
The
I Zero Waste City Solutions
II Extended Producer Responsibility Solutions
III Policy Solutions
Introduction
Solutions
IV Business Redesign Solutions
In the face of the undeniable evidence the plastics industry only really took off
provided by the global brand audits, top in the 1950s with the growth of the fossil
industry polluters have been quick to fuel industry and mass consumerism that
acknowledge their role in perpetuating popularized the concept of ‘disposable’
the plastic pollution crisis, but have been goods. And while companies try hard to
equally aggressive in promoting false sell us false solutions like bioplastic, 100%
solutions to address the problem. ‘recyclable’ packaging, incineration and
© Tjasa Frida - Fridizia/Zero Waste Europe chemical recycling — all of which carry
problematic consequences — these are
merely distractions that detract from much
“I sometimes wonder more effective alternatives for long-term
change. For instance, switching to paper
if we’re in the branded is one of the most common false solutions,
litter business, branded as the consequences can lead to increased
deforestation.
trash…”
- Alan Jope, Unilever CEO Real solutions must change systems and
during a Davos 2019 panel debate
#breakfreefromplastic
power structures. While individuals play an
important role in paving the way for these
changes, individuals cannot solve the plastic
The plastic industry polluters are tough to problem alone — that takes community.
beat, but despite these corporations’ best And zero waste communities have in fact
efforts, real people-powered solutions are been showing the way towards the proper
popping up and blooming like wildflowers. and safe management of discarded waste,
All over the world, community-led solutions highlighting as well the problematic materials
BRANDED VOLUME II
show us that a world without single use that could not be managed and should
plastic is not only possible — it already exists. therefore be taken out of commerce.
We know how to live SUP-free; we’ve In 2016, Break Free From Plastic movement
done it for thousands of years. Remember, members launched the Zero Waste Cities
ZERO WASTE CITY SOLUTIONS Separate collection in action, Ljubljana
46 47Real solutions must change systems
and power structures.
While individuals play an
important role in paving
the way for these changes,
individuals cannot solve the
plastic problem alone -
that takes community
project in Asia to promote Zero Waste Zero Waste in partnership with Zero Waste
models working toward “the conservation Europe, which has produced a Zero Waste
of all resources by means of responsible Cities Master Plan for decision makers,
production, consumption, reuse, and city planners, and project implementers.
recovery of products, packaging, and Cities across the United States have also
materials without burning, and with no implemented Zero Waste strategies,
discharges to land, water, or air that from Boston, Massachusetts to Berkeley,
threaten the environment or human health.” California and beyond.
With 25 participating cities to date, these
Zero Waste Cities have conducted valuable
waste assessments and brand audits
that provide critical data for their waste
No matter where in
management. It has also strengthened Break the world you live,
Free From Plastic’s ability to engage with
companies that produce single-use plastic
community power is the
by providing valuable data. key to creating solutions
The concept of ‘Zero Waste Cities’ is not that last.
new. In small towns and big cities spread
across the Global North and South,
communities are joining the Zero Waste Through long-term commitment and
Revolution en masse. More than 400 cities cooperation, communities are already
and municipalities in the European Union gaining important wins and holding single-
have already pledged to transition towards use plastic producers accountable.
48 49
Photo credits: © Rommel Cabrera/GAIAThe
PART 2
Solutions I Zero Waste City Solutions
Because of the undue focus on Asia as the only covered 30% of the households, yet
Photo credits: © Rommel Cabrera/GAIA
poster child of the global plastic pollution, cost for hauling waste alone reached 80
the world has failed to see and recognize the million PHP (1.5 million USD). Residents
solutions springing up in the region. in areas without collection were left to
manage their own waste, which they did
Sometimes these solutions come even in either by open dumping or open burning,
times of greatest adversity. both of which are against the law.
Nearly flattened in As a response, Tacloban City partnered
with Mother Earth Foundation, a Philippine-
2013 after becoming based non-profit organization that has
ground zero of Typhoon been helping cities and communities
reduce their waste and better manage
Haiyan—the strongest it. Under the guidance of Mother Earth
Foundation, the city implemented a Zero
typhoon ever in Waste program. They started by trying
to understand the waste problem of the
recorded history to city by conducting surveys, baseline
landfall—Tacloban City, studies, and household waste assessment
Zero Waste City Solutions a highly urbanized area
and brand audits (WABAs). From the
results of these assessments, the city
developed strategies that would allow
in central Philippines, it to properly implement Zero Waste.
ASIA PAC IFIC Germany—known for high recycling rates— is well on its way to The city launched an intensive house-
have been exporting their mixed waste to
FROM G RO U ND ZERO
Southeast Asia in the guise of recycling.
becoming a Zero Waste to-house information, education, and
TO Z E RO WAST E communication (IEC) campaign to educate
model city. the people about the importance of
Contributing Author: Sherma Benosa, GAIA, and GAIA Asia Pacific Staff
Now we know: segregating their waste. Households were
But getting on the road to Zero Waste also taught about the various categories
For many years, developing countries in Asian countries may be was tough. Already burdened with waste
Asia have been maligned as the world’s
worst marine polluters—a narrative that the leakage points of problems due to the lack of efficient waste
management system, the city suddenly found
Break Free From Plastic challenged in
2018 when member organizations showed
marine plastic pollution, itself having to deal with massive waste
from the wreckage wrought by the typhoon.
through coordinated global brand audits but the pollution starts Having to clear the city of the debris from
that the sources of pollution in Asia
uprooted trees and broken buildings and
were actually multinational corporations somewhere else—right houses, among many others, Tacloban
headquartered in the Global North. These
findings were consistent with those of the in the backyards of the City immediately filled up its dumpsite
which should have long-ago been closed.
massive cleanup and brand audit conducted
in the Philippines in 2017. Most recently,
Global North countries
In 2016, three years after the killer storm,
a new GAIA investigative report published that point to Asia as the the city continued to use the dumpsite,
in early 2019 showed that many countries
already swollen with the typhoon debris.
in the Global North, including the US and culprit. At the time, garbage collection services
Photo credits: © Rommel Cabrera/GAIA
50 51into which they needed to segregate their part of many local government authorities is the cities, municipalities, and people in
waste. To prime the barangays (villages) to institute Zero Waste programs, these these localities who bear the brunt of this
with the important task of implementing materials remain huge obstacles to achieving problem. But cities and municipalities can
the program, barangay officials were Zero Waste. Governments can take steps to fight back and start confronting the plastic
capacitated and empowered to implement reduce plastic pollution by enacting waste challenge by using WABAs (waste and brand
door-to-door collection and enforce the reduction policies like bans and fees, and audits) as a tool.
no-segregation, no-collection policy. holding producers accountable.
At first, households did not readily embrace Plastic is not just a litter problem; it is a
the segregation policy, thinking it was too pernicious pollution problem that starts
complicated and time consuming. But as soon as the plastic is made. Faced with
through continued education and the waste no choice but plastic packaging, people
collectors’ resolve to strictly implement are forced to be complicit in the plastic
the ‘no-segregation, no-collection’ pollution crisis. The huge amount of plastics For more stories of Zero Waste Cities
policy, the compliance level is now high. in Philippine waste streams is a reflection around the world, please visit
Currently, every barangay has a materials of the reality that when buying necessities www.zerowasteworld.org
recovery facility, in accordance with the in the supermarket, single-use plastic is
law. Collected biodegradable wastes are unavoidable for the consumer. As the brand For more information on waste and brand
composted, and recyclable wastes and audits in this report show, plastic is a global audits in the Philippines, you can find the
residuals are temporarily stored here until problem with local repercussions, and it full report at www.no-burn.org/waba2019/
Photo credits: © Rommel Cabrera/GAIA
they are either sold or collected by the city
Thanks to the city’s Zero But as much as the city of
Waste program, waste Tacloban has progressed
collection significantly towards a zero waste
rose, from a dismal 30% system through waste
to 100%. reduction, recycling and
composting, there is still
Through the program, the amount of
a part of the waste stream
waste prevented from going to the landfill leftover that the city is
increased from 10% in 2017 to 55% by
2018. The city has recovered 384 tons of
stuck with getting rid of:
organic wastes and 23 tons of recyclables single-use plastic trash.
from the 64 barangays that have started
implementing Zero Waste. Without a Zero
Cities and municipalities all over Asia and
Waste program, all these wastes would
the developing world are struggling against
have gone to the dumpsite. The waste
this common enemy, much of which is
generation by the city likewise dropped by
produced by multinational corporations in
31%, from 175 tons to 121 tons per day.
the Global North, like Coca Cola, Nestlé,
and PepsiCo. Despite firm efforts on the Photo credits: © Rommel Cabrera/GAIA
52 53You can also read
