Surfers Against Sewage reveal brands most responsible for plastic pollution
The Cornish charity have found the 'Dirty Dozen' brands who caused the most waste in the past year
Surfers Against Sewage has revealed the brands most responsible for plastic pollution in the past year - in a new report.
New data reveals Coca-Cola as the UK’s biggest plastic polluter for the fourth year running, responsible for almost one fifth of branded pollution found in beach cleans this year.
It is part of the Cornish charity's annual Brand Audit - which has seen a rise in other items of pollution - including fishing gear and disposable vapes logged by citizen scientists.
Izzy Ross, Campaigns Manager at Surfers Against Sewage, said: "The results of this year's Brand Audit are shocking, but sadly not surprising. Year on year we’re seeing the same culprits responsible for disgusting amounts of plastic pollution on our beaches, and in our cities and countryside."
New data has revealed the ‘Dirty Dozen’ companies responsible for over two thirds of branded pollution collected in the UK over a 12-month period, between 6 June 2022 and 5 June 2023.
Of 30,745 individual polluting items collected across that time, 36% of those items were branded.
Izzy added: "This Dirty Dozen of plastic polluting companies need to clean up their act. They must be held accountable for their pollution and driven to do more to adopt circular business models to reduce their plastic and (by extension) their carbon footprint. These industry giants have the power to save or condemn our ocean. At the moment they’re choosing the latter."
McDonald’s and PepsiCo take second and third place, with the former overtaking the latter for the first time.
Together, the three biggest polluting brands were responsible for a staggering 37% of all branded pollution collected during the audit – down only two percentage points from last year’s figure.
Fishing gear made up 16% of all branded and unbranded waste found on beaches.
This year’s brand audit was also the first to identify a significant number of vape and e-cigarette products, with 131 items logged in this category.
SAS is calling on large companies to "clean up their act on plastic pollution" by taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products, reducing their packaging, and adopting circular business models.
They're also urging the government to introduce an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers of all sizes and materials, including glass – rather than solely small containers classified as ‘on-the-go’. This scheme would see consumers pay an up-front deposit on products, redeemed on return of the container.
Izzy Ross, Campaigns Manager at Surfers Against Sewage, added: "A deposit return scheme is one of the most effective ways to reduce plastic pollution. DRS schemes have been shown to be highly successful in other countries, and there’s no reason to assume this wouldn’t be the case in the UK.
"Unfortunately, the government continues to stall on plans to implement a DRS. In doing so, it is condemning our ocean, beaches and rivers to a further 8bn extra pieces of plastic a year, as plastic gradually chokes these fragile ecosystems to death."
This evening at 8pm, SAS is staging a community event at the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Cornwall along with volunteers from the local SAS Plastic Free Community - where synchronised swimmers battle to complete a routine as the pool fills with plastic waste.