Just how bad is it? Where do we go from here?
SYBIL BULLOCK, BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC
1950s
KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL The propaganda campaign that influenced generations - until today.
"The trick has been to publicly embrace opponents’ concern for the environment while privately fighting attempts at regulation...shifting responsibility for the waste away from the companies that created it and onto consumers."
WASTE ONLY: HOW THE PLASTIC INDUSTRY IS FIGHTING TO KEEP POLLUTING THE WORLD (THE INTERCEPT, JULY 2019)
Humans are exposed to a large variety of toxic chemicals and microplastics through inhalation, ingestion, and direct skin contact, all along the plastic lifecycle. (Plastic & Health: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet)
COCA-COLA "We aim to make our global packaging 100% recyclable by 2025."
NESTLÉ "Our commitment is that 100% of our packaging is recyclable or reusable by 2025."
UNILEVER Unilever has confirmed that by 2025 it will "halve its use of virgin plastic, by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic.".
PEPSICO Will reduce 35 percent of its virgin plastic for their beverage product line. The company also promised to make all of its packaging 100 percent recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025.
"Recyclable" does not mean "recycled."
Only 9% of all plastics produced since the 1950s have been recycled
Plastic cannot be recycled indefinitely
It disproportionately impacts the Global South
Companies aren't paying the full cost. We are.
If your bathtub was overflowing, you wouldn’t immediately reach for a mop — you’d first turn off the tap. That’s what we need to do with single-use plastics.
Corporations continue to undermine our efforts by extracting more fossil fuels to manufacture more single use plastics.
Thank you! GET IN TOUCH Sybil Bullock Brand Audit Coordinator brandaudit@breakfreefromplastic.org