There's been a lot happening out there, so it can be easy to forget that just a few months ago, sustainability was a top message for many consumer product companies.
A reminder arrived on June 8 for World Oceans Day as the World Wildlife Fund released a report looking at the "challenges and potential solutions for tackling the plastic pollution problem." Transparent 2020 showed that the principal members of ReSource: Plastic — Keurig Dr Pepper, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks and Coca-Cola Co. — collectively used 4.2 million metric tons of plastic in one year, and only 8 percent of that was sourced from recycled content.
"While these figures represent the need to address infrastructure challenges around increasing recycled plastic, they also tell a story of partnership and transparency, which is critical to enabling meaningful progress to address the systemic issues on plastic waste," WWF said in a news release. "The principal members hope these efforts will inspire other companies to take similar action."
Transparency about plastics use by those companies is important to understand the collaboration needed to eliminate plastics in waterways, the groups said. That includes a focus on ramping up recycling.
"In particular, polypropylene recycling in the U.S. is highlighted as a strong opportunity for increased recycling," the release noted. "The U.S. recycling rate for polypropylene is close to zero ... and as the demand for quality recycled polypropylene far exceeds supply, collective action is needed to increase availability."