The NGO France Nature Environnement has filed a complaint near Paris against Coca-Cola, which it accuses of having deceived consumers during the 2024 Olympics by promising “zero waste” as a drinks supplier despite the use of plastic bottles, the organization announced Wednesday.
In a press release, the NGO details “a well-established choreography” by Coca-Cola: “pour the contents of a plastic bottle into a cup, serve it to a person who then thinks they have an ecological container in their possession, then throw the container away. bottle out of sight. However, the boss of Coca-Cola France, Mickaël Vinet, affirmed, in April on France Info, that he was aiming for “zero waste” during the Olympic Games, recalls the NGO. “These allegations thus took on a misleading character, intended to improve the image of the brand in the eyes of the general public,” asserts France Nature Environnement in its complaint, consulted by AFP.
Already criticized during the Games, the American company explained that it had to use plastic bottles on certain Olympic sites. The American giant had indicated in a press release that it was necessary to find the “best conditions of safety and food quality”, but also “to adapt to each site and its technical and logistical constraints”, citing among these the arrivals water and electricity, the “available surface” or “storage space”.
The non-alcoholic drinks giant had stated that these bottles would be “sorted and compacted in order to be recycled”. However, “plastic has an environmental impact from its production,” recalls Axèle Gibert, responsible for waste management at FNE, who also highlights the presence of microplastics in the liquids drunk in these bottles. She denounces a “double discourse” that we find “on the negotiations on the plastic treaty”.
In Busan, South Korea, representatives from 178 countries are working on this international treaty intended to eliminate plastic pollution. But if some countries want to aim for a reduction in production and the elimination of “unnecessary” plastics, others, including large oil producers, are opposed to any quantified objective on production.
