LA County suing PepsiCo, Coca-Cola over plastic beverage pollution

Los Angeles County has filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Co. alleging their “significant role” in plastic pollution’s negative impacts on the environment and public health, as well as misrepresentations to the public surrounding the recyclability of plastic beverage containers and a failure to disclose environmental and health harms associated with the use of those containers.

The lawsuit alleges the beverage giants have misrepresented the environmental impact of plastic beverage containers, claiming they are recyclable despite knowing that plastics cannot be readily disposed of without associated environmental impacts. The county also claims that recycling using current methods is “incapable” of eliminating the environmental impacts, and most plastic containers end up at landfills or as litter.

Additionally, the lawsuit says the production, disposal and recycling of plastic all create greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts that negatively impact county residents.

“Los Angeles County is committed to reducing the use of plastic and protecting the environment,” Los Angeles County Board Chair Lindsey Horvath says in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Coke and Pepsi need to stop the deception and take responsibility for the plastic pollution problems your products are causing. Los Angeles County will continue to address the serious environmental impacts caused by companies engaging in misleading and unfair business practices.”

Collectively, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola own dozens of beverage brands, including Dasani, Aquafina, Gatorade, Sprite and Mountain Dew, for example. In the lawsuit, the county cites reporting from nongovernmental organization (NGO) Break Free From Plastic that ranks the two companies as the world’s top plastic polluters for five consecutive years.

The lawsuit alleges that actions by both companies have contributed to plastic pollution becoming a local and global crisis and a threat to both human and environmental health. According to the county, “PepsiCo and Coca-Cola engaged in a disinformation campaign to make consumers falsely believe that purchasing their products in single-use plastic bottles is an environmentally responsible choice.”

However, the lawsuit claims that “because plastic does not biodegrade naturally in the environment, but rather breaks down into smaller fragments and pieces, their plastic products accumulate and pollute the county’s land and water resources, contaminating the county’s natural resources, harming the environment and wildlife and threatening public health.”

The lawsuit says the beverage companies misled consumers by promising that recycling can offset any harm associated with single-use plastic bottles. As an example, the lawsuit says Coca-Cola has promised to create a circular economy for its bottles where they can be recycled and reused an “endless number of times,” similar to PepsiCo’s strategy. The county says, however, that the reality is plastic bottles can only be recycled once, if at all, making those circular economy promises impossible, and promises by both brands that they would increase their use of recycled plastic by certain percentages and eliminate the use of virgin plastic proved false.

The lawsuit says plastic degrades into microplastics, which contaminate air, food and water and increasingly are being found in humans, where they can cause negative health impacts.

The lawsuit, filed by County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison on behalf of the People of the State of California in response to complaints from consumers across the county and the state, seeks injunctive relief to stop the companies’ “unfair and deceptive business practices,” restitution for consumers of the money acquired by means of the companies’ business practices and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation. The county counsel’s Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division will prosecute the case in civil court.

“The goal of this lawsuit is to stop the unfair and illegal conduct, to address the marketing practices that deceive consumers and to force these businesses to change their practices to reduce the plastic pollution problem in the county and in California,” Harrison says. “My office is committed to protecting the public from deceptive business practices and holding these companies accountable for their role in the plastic pollution crisis.”

The American Beverage Association (ABA), of which PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are both members, says the allegation that the companies’ packaging is not and will not be recycled is not true.

“Driven by the California Redemption Value bottle return and investments by America’s beverage companies, California has one of the highest bottle recycling rates in the country—71 percent in 2023,” ABA Vice President of Media and Public Affairs William Dermody says in a statement. “Our bottles are designed to be recycled and remade and can include up to 100 percent recycled plastic. America’s beverage companies are proud of our leadership in California and across the country and will continue our partnership with the Golden State to get every bottle back.”