Coca-Cola Co. produced more than 3 million tons of plastic packaging in 2017, according to a newly published report, the first time the soft drink giant has revealed its plastic output.
Coca-Cola provided the information to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which is pushing for pro-environmental measures through its “New Plastics Economy initiative.”
The Guardian reported Thursday that Coca-Cola did not specify the scale of its bottle production, but that the 3.3 million tons of plastic packaging translates to roughly 108 billion bottles per year.{mosads}
Other companies that disclosed their plastic packaging output to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation include Mars, Nestle and Danone, which together produced roughly 8 million tons of plastic packaging per year, The Guardian reported.
The report coincided with the Coca-Cola Foundation announcing $5.4 million in grants to be contributed to environmental organizations, according to CNN. About $4.15 million will go toward the Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit that seeks to boost recycling infrastructure.
A number of municipalities and businesses have sought to move away from the use of plastic straws in recent years amid concerns about the material’s negative affects on the environment.