As you read this, I’m just back from a couple of weeks in France. In case you find yourself with a few leftover selfie sticks and fidget spinners you still need to get rid of, get on the horn to Paris. They’re still a hot thing there, being unloaded to unsuspecting tourists in the souvenir shops and by vendors on the street in record numbers. You’re welcome.
But that’s not what today’s post is about, though the French people seem to be increasingly focused on environmental responsibility. We had more than one conversation about the long-standing traffic and parking challenges in Paris. Several folks said the same thing: With the city rewarding more electric vehicles with premium parking spots, soon you won’t be able to drive a traditional vehicle in the city. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of our larger cities followed the same path?
And while we’re on the topic of environmentally friendly things, are you aware that your recycled bottle likely really isn’t?
If you think about soda (or pop in the North), juice, and water, you’ve probably thought that since the bottle is recyclable, it’s made from recycled material, too. That’s not the case. Coca-Cola, while issuing its second quarter results talking about worldwide expansion of low- and no-sugar sparkling beverages, also reported that only 7 percent of plastic bottles were made from recycled materials.
Greenpeace, publishing an article on 9 Ways To Decrease Your Plastic Use, said that the next six largest soft drink companies globally average only 6.6 percent recycled materials. So if your drink bottles are not being recycled into new bottles, where are they going? The vast majority are exported to plastic manufacturers in emerging markets and used to make synthetic fabrics for clothing. Other uses are carpeting, bags, packaging, and straps for shipping boxes.
That means almost every drink we buy is packaged in new plastic because, with lower petroleum prices, new plastic is cheaper than recycled plastic. Environmentalists worry that for beverage companies, future growth relies on producing more disposable bottles that only feeds a growing volume of plastic junk across the world.
About six billion pounds of plastic bottles get thrown away every year, and only about 30 percent of them are recycled, according to IBISWorld analyst Nate Gelman. Of that 30 percent, just one-fifth is processed to create fresh plastic bottles for use in food and beverages. Like so many things about recycling, it boils down to cost: Converting recycled plastic into fiber for use in apparel and carpeting “is less energy intensive and less laborious” than the process required to convert it to food grade plastic for bottles, Gelman said.
Is there a shining star in the plastic bottle business? Yes. Nestle’s Arrowhead Spring Water brand now makes 90 percent of its bottles out of 50 percent recycled materials. So, there is a little light in the darkness. But, you know what would shine an even brighter light, of course, that refillable drinkware that you have been selling on design, or retail trend, or, ahem, price. Maybe now you can add not filling the landfills to your pitch—you certainly have the facts to back you up. Tell them that simply dropping a plastic bottle into the recycling bin doesn’t let them off the hook.
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. You can find him still advising Global 500 Brands on promo product initiatives, working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.