Corporate Recycling Efforts Lag as UN Seeks Treaty on Plastic

With diplomats gathered in Geneva this week to try to hammer out a treaty to reduce plastic pollution, major buyers of plastic packaging are behind on their targets to use more recycled content—and some are scaling those goals back.

- Bloomberg

Consumer brands Pepsi and Coca-Cola have both trimmed targets, Bloomberg NEF noted in a report on July 31. Both had pledged to use 50% recycled material in their packaging by 2030. Now Coca-Cola is aiming for at least 35%, while Pepsi intends to meet a minimum of 40% by 2035.

Other well-known food, personal care and cosmetics brands are lagging on their 2025 recycled-content targets, BNEF found. PepsiCo declined to comment and Coca-Cola didn't respond to requests for comment.

One reason for the gap is a lack of material. Though plastic waste is abundant across the globe, collection and sorting of trash for recycling was a primary bottleneck, according to Kirti Vasta, an analyst for BNEF.