Coca-Cola to recycle…. again
Earlier this month, Coca-Cola announced it was investing over $60 million to construct the world’s largest plastic bottle recycling plant. According to Coke, the goal of the plant is to “recycle and reuse 100 percent of the companies PET bottles in the United States.” Seriously, what are they thinking? There is no way to recycle 100 percent of all the plastic bottles they are using around the country. Unless they are going to hire people to go through trash on the streets, I don’t think this strategy is going to work.
According to the National Association for the PET Container Resources 2005 report, only 1,170 of the 5,075 PET bottles are recycled in the United States. That means only 23.1% of Americans are recycling.
If the past is any indication, Coca-Cola’s goals are much higher than possible to achieve success. Coke stated in a New York Times article on Sept. 6, 1990 that all of its bottles would be made using 25 percent recycled materials. The announcement made news for Coke, and made them stand out among other companies at the time. However, Coke decided several years into the campaign that it was too much of a high cost. Now, let’s recall that Fortune 500 magazine did report in 2005 that the Coca-Cola company had over $23 million in revenue. Hmmmmm…….
As a result of their failed past efforts, Coca-Cola gained much scrutiny from various environmental activists throughout the years. In 1998, Working Efforts and the GrassRoots Recycling Network started a campaign called ‘Coke-Take it Back!’ A year after the campaign was created, 88 organizations, recycling leaders and businesses in 26 states endorsed the campaign. The campaign, which alerted consumers about the problems with Coca-Cola and its bad recycling habits, generated over 40,000 e-mails, phone calls and letters to Coke’s CEO. The GrassRoots Recycling Network struck again when it started a campus job boycott of Coca-Cola. The decrease in new recruits hit Coke where it hurt the most.
All of the negative attention from the past has really seemed to propel Coke into 
the present with the new recycling plan. But, will the American public really believe what Coke is saying? After being let down so much in the past, it is hard to place such trust in a company that could be potentially starting an environmental campaign only to increase profits and positive news.
I guess time will tell, but let this be a lesson to all to never make false promises to your public. Hopefully Coke doesn’t recycle its old habits of falling short in guarantees.
Your skepticism is well placed, but don’t be too hard on Coke if this doesn’t work. Problem with recycling is that it’s not always good for the bottom line. Aluminum cans are fine, since the material recovered reduces the cost of making additional cans. Recycled aluminum is far cheaper than metal refined from ores. Plastic, on the other hand, isn’t real profitable as recycled material. So with plastic you have to do it because it’s the right thing for society and the environment. Not all companies are so inclined.
Coke’s plan to recycle its bottles is a great idea, though it is extremely unrealistic that 100% of the bottles will be recycled. Having recycled plastic bottles can create more bottles, but also benches, I think recycling is the best idea. I do hope that Coke can keep its promise and recycle as many bottles as possible. This is such a great idea and plan that hopefully Coke will follow through with.
I completely agree with you on the trust issue that may present itself because of Coke’s former promises. To “recycle and reuse 100 percent of the company’s PET bottles in the United States” is an impossible goal to achieve, but the goal itself being challenging will perhaps attract people to Coke’s efforts for the environment. However, by Coke backing out of the 1990 recycle plan claiming “high costs” (all the while having over $23 million in revenue) people took note of its lack of sincerity. Perhaps consumers now associate false pretenses with Coca-Cola. It’s like the old, worn-out saying, “don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Although beat to death and seemingly meaningless, it’s still true. By Coke making this valient effort to “recycle and reuse 100 percent of the company’s bottles,” people are going to expect some results this time and not another cop out claiming “high costs.” Coke needs to be prepared and ready to deliver and, if they fall short, I hope they are prepared for widespread consumer discontent … yet again.
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