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Coca-Cola will not ditch single-use plastic bottles because 'consumers still want them'

Getty Images for The Coca-Cola C
Getty Images for The Coca-Cola C

Coca-Cola has said it will not ditch single-use plastic bottles as its head of sustainability insisted consumers still prefer to use them.

Bea Perez told the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that customers like the bottles because they reseal and are lightweight.

Coca-Cola, one of the world’s biggest producers of plastic waste, has pledged to recycle as many plastic bottles as it uses by 2030.

But critics have hit back, saying many of the bottles would go uncollected and still end up in landfill.

Ms Perez said the firm recognised it had to be "part of the solution" in curbing global plastic pollution.

However, she said the company could not ditch plastic outright, saying this could alienate customers and hit sales, adding that using only aluminum and glass packaging could increase its carbon footprint.

"Business won't be in business if we don't accommodate consumers," she said.

"So as we change our bottling infrastructure, move into recycling and innovate, we also have to show the consumer what the opportunities are. They will change with us."

The drinks giant produces about three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year - equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute.

In 2019, it was found to be the most polluting brand in a global audit of plastic waste by the charity Break Free from Plastic.

Ms Perez also said she agreed with calls for Coca Cola to reach its environmental goals sooner than 2030 - although she would not say whether she would step down if the plans failed.

"We have to reach this goal and we will - there's no question."

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