- 50% of the plastic we use is single use or disposable.
- Returnable bottles that companies sell to customers are then returned, washed, refilled, and sold again.
- Every year between 20,000 and 34,000 million PET bottles are produced and sold by the soft drinks sector.
Oceana has presented a report revealing that increasing the volume of soft drinks and water sold in returnable bottles by 10% (instead of single-use PET) would prevent between 4.5 and 7.6 billion PET bottles from being dumped into the sea each year, which represents a reduction of 22% of this well-known single-use plastic.
The study, titled “One Word: Returnables” was presented to investors at the headquarters of the HSBC financial group. The same estimates that annually between 20,000 and 34,000 million PET bottles are produced and sold by the soft drinks sector.
“ Beverage companies are major polluters of the ocean. They make billions of plastic bottles a year that end up in the sea, where they stay forever, “ says Andy Sharpless, CEO of Oceana. ” They must take responsibility and commit to producing less plastic and less garbage .”
Returnables are bottles that companies sell to customers and are then returned, washed, refilled, and sold again. Customers return them because they pay a deposit that is returned to them upon returning the container. Made of PET or glass, the bottles are used between 20 and 50 times, respectively. In the case of Peru, the bottles with the longest durability – such as glass – are usually provided at the start of the purchase. For a long time, returnable systems were the main method of marketing soft drinks worldwide.
The report includes studies according to which returnable bottles have a lower carbon footprint than disposable plastic bottles, according to recent life cycle analyzes carried out in Germany and Chile. Dr. Henning Wilts of the Wuppertal Institute writes that “in the specific case of returnable PET bottles compared to single-use bottles, these [life cycle] analyzes have found that returnable containers save up to 40% of raw materials and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions ”.
Anne Schroeer, senior manager and lead author of the Oceana report, notes that “ despite the sector’s focus on increasing the share of throw-away bottles, data shows that returnables are still a viable system, it is better for the oceans and the sector can easily grow it. Returnable systems represent more than 30% of beverages sold in large markets such as Germany, Mexico, the Philippines and Indonesia . “‘
Peruvian regulation
Peru is currently applying some of the most comprehensive single-use plastics regulations to date. The so-called “Plastics Law” ( Law N 30884 ) approved in December 2018, established a series of progressive restrictions on the consumption, production, import and marketing of single-use plastics such as bags, PET plastic bottles, technopor containers and sorbets.
For example, to date these plastics are already prohibited in vulnerable areas such as the country’s Natural Protected Areas and coastal beaches, among other spaces. Likewise, it establishes the progressive incorporation of recycled material – up to 15% – in the manufacture of plastic (PET) bottles for beverages, personal hygiene and others similar. However, the regulation of the law did not set specific goals for this measure, it only indicated that producers will receive technical assistance from the Ministry of the Environment. At the same time, the standard does not include measures to reduce the consumption of single-use PET bottles and / or encourage the use of returnables.
Data
- A plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to biodegrade.
- Plastic bottles are the second most found object in beach cleanings worldwide. (International Coastal Clean-up)
- They also occupy the second place in the ranking of beach cleaning carried out in Peru in 2019. (Do it for your beach)
- 91% of the plastic used worldwide is not recycled. ( See study 2017)
- In Peru almost 950 thousand tons of plastic are consumed per year, only 0.3% is recycled. (MINAM). (2018)
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-third of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 225 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit www.oceana.org to learn more.