SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 19, 1:30 p.m. ET) — Nestle Waters North America received the highest score in a new report that ranks beverage companies´ recycling efforts.
Nestle, which had a score of 2.88 and a letter grade of B-, was followed by PepsiCo (2.83, B-) and Coca-Cola Co. (2.73, B-) for the top three spots in the “Waste and Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and Report 2011.”
PepsiCo and Coke were narrowly edged out for the top position because Nestle has better beverage container collection goals and strategies, the report said.
The report on the state of beverage container recycling is the third since 2006 by San Francisco-based corporate responsibility advocacy group As You Sow. Companies were scored based on their responses to As You Sow's recycling survey or publicly available information.
Coke, which the report said has been an historical opponent of container deposit legislation, indicated it is now neutral on a “voluntary” system of deposits administered by associated industries.
In addition, the report said, Coke and Nestle have started to press publicly for state-extended producer responsibility laws for post-consumer packaging similar to those in place in Canada and Europe.
