to be disappointed in coca cola

[ToTravelIsToLive]

They have announced they will not ditch single use plastic due to them being light weight and resealable. Every second 20,000 drinks in plastic bottles are purchased so even just ditching their mini plastic bottles for glass or alternative would make a huge difference! They are the global leader so could have set a precedent for others. When we were on holiday in Kenya they only gave out glass and you returned your bottle to the shop for a % of your money back. This was even in the most rural areas! In Germany I always remember seeing vending machines that you returned glass bottles to for € so it is possible.

YABU - I like the convenience of plastic and agree with coca cola

YANBU - I would not be put off / I would be more inclined to buy their products if they were in a more environmentally friendly package.

@Twenty2 very true!

@Retroflex it’s recommended but not essential. The whole point of the word essential is that life ceases to function in the ordinary way without something essential. An example of when milk as a beverage (not a food) would become essential is if a child were to refuse all other sources of calcium. Unlikely but possible given how picky some children are. In that instance you could say it’s essential, for a normal child though it’s not. Alternatively you could say that calcium is essential and milk is a good way to obtain it (although not the best apparently).

Brilliant talk on this subject. Plastic is exceptionally good at what it is does. The carbon footprint of the alternatives not so much.

https://www.ted.com/talks/kimragaerttplasticsrehab/transcript?language=en

@Reginabambina "it’s recommended but not essential."

I'd rather take a medical professionals opinion over some random online!

And this is the solution. This guys will give you all hope.

https://www.ted.com/talks/andrewforresttaradicallplantooendplasticcwaste/up-next?language=en

The problem with cans and glass is that they're not practical to transport in a bag as you can't reclose them. Those trendy metal bottles are too big and heavy for me.
I've massively cut down on plastic and am still reusing a Pret bottle from summer 18 (before I boycotted them due them being awful with allergies).

@megletthesecond the chilly's bottles come in a variety of sizes though?

There is no reason why anyone would need to buy it
Um how bout taste, I love the taste.
Its also a common mixer in alcoholic drinks for many

Crikey! I now feel officially educated that cars are essential but microwaves aren't 🙄 Also if you drink water you're a good person, and if you drink pop you're a dickhead contributing to climate change (but not if you're driving your essential car whilst drinking water out of your fancy manufactured aluminium bottle).

And to roll it back to the original post... Doesn't Kenya have a whole host of problems beyond virtue signalling they recycle soda bottles? Are much of the country even able to buy Coca Cola on the same scale as many other countries? Or is glass bottle collection more for the wealthy and tourists?

YABVU to expect not to be disappointed with CocaCola.

Stealing drinking water from Indian villages.
Somehow allowing a union leader to be murdered in one of their plants in Mexico.

At least the union members in Ireland only had their livelihoods taken away from them.

OP Join the boycott, there are a lot of us.

lalala205 Kenya has many major problems with plastic and rubbish disposal there is no country wide waste disposal set up and littering is widespread. But the glass bottles of coke are widespread and not just for wealthy tourists a 500ml glass bottle of coke will cost about 40p but if you don't keep the bottle or return it you get around 10p back. Soda is a big industry and something indulged in by the masses. While 40p might be unattainable to the very poorest it's not for most people and even in the most rural of towns with no electric or running water you'll find a shop selling very warm fizzy drinks

That's pretty fascinating then as a lot of people seem to be protesting that fizzy drinks are the devil's spawn. And yet in places without electric it's a common staple vs a treat?

It's like McDonald's having branches in nearly every country. You get a lot of people moaning about it. But to give them their due they are providing employment and people are still willing to buy.

In the most rural of places maybe it would be seen as a treat but take a walk around any of the slums in kenyas cities and you will see stalls selling fizzy drinks. There are other brands even cheaper than coca cola also using plastic bottles. People also often have the misconception that Kenya is all people in mud huts living off cattle (not suggesting you believe that but its common) the cities and towns are huge and sprawling and the working class constitutes multiple millions of people.
Bit of a thread derail to get into that but in short here it is just ingrained that if you buy a glass bottle you take the bottle back and it is cleaned and reused. If that can be managed here it should be possible in Europe. One problem would maybe be that the bottles are literally cleaned and reused so get scratched and battered perhaps that wouldn't work in Europe where people like things looking new.

No, I've never been to Kenya, but I been to central India and its most definately not mud huts there 😅 Life into own hands trying to cross a street is a definate though.

YANBU in saying they are a terrible company but YABU to think that if they just switched to glass bottles they wouldn't be evil anymore.

Just one example, here in Australia coca cola is allowed to bottle and sell water from the aquifer in Mt Tamborine in Queensland. Meanwhile the same town is short of water for the residents. The schools bores have already run dry.

Tragically I don't think people would stop consuming their products even if they knew the truth

@ToTravelIsToLive You are undoubtedly right. See Nestle for another example.

The problem with cans and glass is that they're not practical to transport in a bag as you can't reclose them.

Homebrewers (like yours truly) are well versed in reusing glass bottles. I'm not going to say something stupid like they last forever, but DF has friends in Italy who are still using bottles their grandparents did for wine. I can only hope there's no downside to new corks every time.

They can do what they like, I don't buy anything in plastic bottles - I buy squash in a glass bottle and then make some in a reusable cup to take out with me.

Shiny I agree with you 100% about the the other competing companies who produce the shite fizzy drinks.

But if it were me I would give my autistic child an apple or dates or some apple juice (natural sweetness), if it was nec. because he might end up with a problem due to the unnaturally high sugar content of the drink we are discussing.