Company increases plastic use by 4.6% in just one year, coinciding with abandonment of plastic packaging reduction targets Oceana analyzed data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment 2025 Progress Report and found that The Coca-Cola Company reported using 7.95 billion pounds (3.61 million metric tons) of plastic packaging in 2024 — nearly a pound of plastic for every person on Earth. This is a 4.6% increase from 2023, and a 21% increase (1.38 billion pounds) since 2019.(1) The company’s surge in plastic use coincides with its abandonment and weakening of many of its packaging related goals in December 2024.
“At a time when plastic pollution is devastating our oceans and threatening human health, Coca-Cola’s plastic use has grown by over a billion pounds in just five years. This is shameful,” said Dr. Dana Miller, Oceana’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. “We need bold and urgent action to address this crisis, including ramping up reusable packaging at-scale.”
Coinciding with the release of the latest progress report, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation also announced a new phase of its Global Commitment, extending commitments and reporting to 2030. So far, PepsiCo and three of Coca-Cola’s largest bottlers — together with other businesses — have recommitted to this initiative, but The Coca-Cola Company has not.
Oceana’s latest report estimates that up to 1.3 billion pounds (602,000 metric tons) of the plastic packaging Coca-Cola uses annually by 2030 would enter the world’s waterways and oceans if the company continues on its current course.
“As the top polluter of branded plastic found in the environment, Coca-Cola must be transparent about its plastic use and it must recommit to prioritizing reusable packaging,” added Miller.
Oceana’s analysis from 2023 found that a global 10% increase in reusable beverage packaging by 2030 could eliminate over 1 trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups.
Additional Background:
(1)The reporting in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment 2025 Progress Report does not include annual increases in plastic use for the companies reporting. To get this data, Oceana compared the progress reports from 2025 (which reports on 2024 data) and 2024 (which reports on 2023 data). Oceana also compared the data from the 2025 progress report to the 2020 progress report (which reports on 2019 data).
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Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 325 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit Oceana.org to learn more.
