Why Coke Is the Worst Plastic Polluter

What is Coca-Cola's environmental impact? Support OCC and get 20+ bonus, ad-free videos by signing up for Nebula: go.nebula.tv/occ/
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In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at Coca-Cola's plastic pollution and water use and waste. Coca-Cola (Coke) has now become synonymous with plastic pollution and one audit of ocean trash claims Coke is the most polluting brand in terms of ocean plastic. In part, this is due to Coca-Cola's switch to plastic bottles in this U.S. in the middle of the 20th century. Plastic is much cheaper to produce but the costs are offloaded onto the oceans and environment. Coca-Cola (Coke) also heavily drains local watersheds and aquifers and in countless locations has led to crop loss and drought. Essentially, wherever Coke goes there's bound to be plastic pollution and water problems.
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Timestamps:
Intro - 0:00
Chapter 1: Water - 0:50
Chapter 2: Plastic - 4:47
Chapter 3: Capitalism and Conclusions - 8:52
Sponsored Message - 10:53
Outro - 12:20
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_______________________
Resources and Further Reading: ourchangingclimate.notion.sit...
#PlasticPollution #Coke #WaterScarcity

[@OurChangingClimate]

🌍 How does recycling work where you live? Could there be a better system? 💡If you want to support this channel share this video on Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc. it helps a lot!

[@sawyerlittle1812]

In my county of 167,000 we can recycle all plastics except #6 plastics, glass, paper, and metal.

[@OurChangingClimate]

@@sawyerlittle1812 How does your recycling system work?

[@sawyerlittle1812]

Our Changing Climate It’s a single stream system. We put it in bins and it’s picked up on Friday. I’m not sure they send it though.

[@solrac4]

In Mexico the recycling system sucks, and also here Coca Cola likes draining up the water from indigenous communities

[@electroplaque]

@The Compiler We have exactly this. I'd like to add that this kind of system recycles about 98% of our plastic bottles into new plastic bottles. My point is, it doesn't need to be glass for this to work, even though that's the focus of this video.

[@QuestForEco]

I hope more people understand that recycling is NOT a perfect solution to solve the plastic problem. We need to tackle the problem at the root rather than trying to heal broken bones with a band aid.

[@OurChangingClimate]

Yeah I wish I did a better job driving that point home in this video. I did do a video on recycling a while back that dives into its many issues: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gme2Z2aMjcukg9k

[@aBunnyThatWillChewOnYourCables]

Exactly! That's what I always tell my relatives and friends. Some of them always have the excuse: "Yeah, but it's recyclable". And then I have to tell them all over again about how recycling should be the last resort (apart from items sadly ending up in landfill obviously).

[@holleey]

the root problem is that companies can use their capital to have politicians ignore their exploitative externalization of costs. linear economy is incentivized.

[@noahchars849]

Exactly. There’s more than one R.

[@lorenzoblum868]

Re-use Reduce Repair Redistribute (share) Recycle Reconsider.....

[@moogleydoot]

coke saying that they return all the water they use is like how nestle say they ethically source their cocoa

[@acevers]

Then don't use it.

[@elfrododobird4536]

This channel both gives me joy and sends my onto a nihilistic spiral but that’s okay harsh truths

[@Oxyleya]

Nihilism is a logical fallacy disproven by e.g. Shakespeare, I hope you never forget that

[@jermainejacobs3652]

I love 💕 Ur videos so much

[@SIeeepingDog]

@@Oxyleya Can you please elaborate on that? I'm genuinely curious

[@cookingandjava7574]

true

[@Q5000]

There are things you can do that matter. Go vegan, buy food in bulk with your own containers, drive electric if possible, ride bikes or electric personal vehicles, grow food, especially join a community garden or learn and incorporate permaculture techniques. There's a lot you can do. Nihilism is not an option.

[@felix__cs9916]

Nobody sees what actually happens behind the curtains. Thank you!

[@aBunnyThatWillChewOnYourCables]

10:14 and that's why I only drink water and tea. With the occasional glass of juice from now and then.

[@TheFourthWinchester]

Governments around the world letting them use plastic instead of glass like before is the most idiotic decision.

[@JennyMaeTalaver]

Recycling should be everyone's last resort. Refuse, reduce and reuse all the way!

[@sawyerlittle1812]

I love your channel! It’s inspiring me to care more about the planet! This was very informative. 💛

[@OurChangingClimate]

Thank you!!! That means a lot!

[@MsPoliteRants]

Pfffft. Return the water they use.... that’s like me saying I give back the water I consume by giving my pee to the water treatment facilities.

[@shaunaburton7136]

Great video. Coke, nestle, unilever etc.... should pay for a big chunk of our country’s recycling.

[@SatnamSingh1]

Good work with your videos, I hope they reach out to more people.

[@OurChangingClimate]

Thanks Satnam! I hope the reach a lot of people too :)

[@matevajda3176]

I agree with the asthetic choice but seeing a metal can being crushed wth "plastic" in the text next to it made me go hmmm :D

[@OurChangingClimate]

Hahahah yeah, I'm testing out a couple of thumbnails right now. This definitely confirmed what I was thinking! Thans for the feedback :)

[@QuestForEco]

To be fair, metal cans also have a layer of plastic in them.. 😂

[@matevajda3176]

@@OurChangingClimate Oh wow new thumbnail, we got a real professional over here!

[@OurChangingClimate]

@@matevajda3176 Hahaha I'm trying. Unfortunately I couldn't find an image of someone crushing a plastic coke bottle :(

[@matevajda3176]

@@OurChangingClimate "Crushing metal is just much more ÊPĮĆ" - stock photo companies

[@sarahjones1868]

I have to say this is the most informative channel on youtube. Every argument is so well researched and suitably presented to the viewers.

[@Noukz37]

I'm surprised you havent mentioned the cost of the plastic packaging as well. I remember reading about how much the actual water costs compared to the plastic bottle that's packed into. It was like way less then 1% of the total cost. These "beverage" companies are actually plastic bottle companies.

[@Nikytooon]

A must watch!!! Thanks for this documentary!

[@raresmircea]

Thanks for tackling these topics and making excellent content!

[@ethanomcbride]

Glass containers are infinitely more pleasant than plastic, I would buy any soda that uses all glass bottles

[@LogicGated]

Recycling is imperfect, always practice reduce and reuse first.

[@BellTollsForThee]

Wow thank you so much for these videos! They are always eye opening and you help drive changes in consumers like myself. Thanks

[@navyaashok4844]

I love your videos. They're super informative and helpful. Thanks!

[@benoitesteve6520]

Thank you for this useful topic

[@Bonzazaz]

Keep up the fantastic work! Your videos are fantastic, showing it to everyone I know :)

[@antfactor]

ALWAYS fantastic work - Thank you!

[@piotrekglubatek5914]

All of the thumbnails on this channel are brilliant

[@vishwakumar2864]

Dear nature lovers ! Do you know What is ECOSIA ?

[@dand.4245]

@@vishwakumar2864 I am using it since they planted 80mil trees

[@vishwakumar2864]

@@dand.4245 thats nice 👏👏. But keep spreading the word about as much as possible. And also hide your old browser in your phone, so that you wont be using that old one by habit. Nevertheless if rarely you find results in ecosia are not relevant, use #g after sesrch term for direct google results in ecosia itself. But dont do this all the time as it wont help ecosia.

[@zizi6538]

@@vishwakumar2864 yea i just switched to ECOSIA as my default search engine thanks to ur comment :)

[@vishwakumar2864]

@@zizi6538 Wow ! So glad to hear that my comment has been helpful 🤠. Keep spreading the word to your friends and family. 👍 At first, i was very skeptic about this , as it was too good to be true 😝, after knowing their financial model, monthly financial reports and regular tree updates in their youtube channel, i got convinced. It is soo transparent that you can even contact with organisations it is partnering with for planting trees. (You will find organisations names in their financial reports) Their channel 👇 kzbin.info

[@alicia-hd2cs]

Im at 245 searches!

[@dl.puncea]

This video needs to reach more people! I fear that this video is not getting enough exposure and that's a shame since it presents very well the impact that big enterprises have on the environment. More people should also know that most of the "green campaigns" that these enterprises put out are actually just marketing schemes and offsets that actually don't solve the problem, they just slightly patch the effects of their pollution while also continuing their day to day pollution as usual .

[@inhobiswinecellar9571]

Very informative ❤

[@willm5814]

This type of information is critical - keep it coming!!

[@nandiaisnirahmadiani606]

I don't even like cokes, gladly

[@dzello]

Coke isn't just coke.... It's much bigger than that.

[@shivashankar2477]

What about pepsi?

[@UndeadKIRA]

You DO like coke products, its not just coka cola. They own alot of products, even ones that look like local products. Its everywhere.

[@benjaminlamothe2093]

@@UndeadKIRA like dasani

[@swornimlama5250]

I have stopped drinking coke since a year ago because recently they had completely stopped the use of glass bottles and replaced them with small plastic bottle adding more plastic to already polluted country of nepal 🇳🇵.

[@aptorres01]

Great wrk guys thank you

[@Indowwindows]

Great and informational video!

[@stevesoldwedel]

I spent some time in the Kingdom of Jordan, 20 years ago. They were still using glass bottles, there, for Coke. I wonder if that's still the case. Even then, the bus stations in Amman and Jaresh-everywhere, really-were loaded with garbage. You'd literally see short archways of Roman ruins atop which Jaresh's bus terminal was built filled with trash carelessly thrown there by any- and everyone. So, even if their materials were more sustainable, it's not like they were handling well their waste.

[@gilbertosanchez8138]

Gracias por hacerme llegar este documental lo veré con atención

[@buddybud-bud3828]

I used to drink coke quite often, now, I'd drink a coke a glass of coke once every 3 to 4 months and have been doing so for around 8 years. When I switched to regular tap water I lost 22kg (around 48 pounds) and have managed to keep it off for all 8 years.

[@izday3668]

Keep up the good work!

[@given-namesurname5740]

Hoping you do videos on the other top polluters like Pepsico and Nestle. Considering their "green" and sustainability initiatives

[@samyuktagovind8748]

Very well researched video. Calls out the corporate hypocrisy. I am glad I bumped into this channel

[@jayy1405]

I love your video!! Thank you for providing such a digestible way to learn about environmental problems

[@reality8763]

Never drank a drop of a carbonated drink. After watching this video I'm proud of myself

[@firstlast9855]

Water is better anyway!

[@veronicaryder7553]

Good on you!

[@KJSvitko]

I recently saw a video where they are adding plastic waste to asphalt paving of roads. The roads last longer and then are able to be recycled again. Seems like a good place for some of the plastic waste to go.

[@neelisjansen]

No definitely not. 1. Think about all the microplastics that that will create when the road wears. 2. It can only be down cycled in lower grade applications such as more asphalt.

[@KJSvitko]

@@neelisjansen The asphalt in roads is reused for new roads. They strip off the old, grind it up and reuse it. Not sure about the micro plastic issue but seem like plastic would be better on the roads than in the oceans. There needs to be some incentive / demand for the waste plastic in order for recycling to work. Best case would be not to use the stuff but it is too late for that.

[@SeeNickView]

@@KJSvitko I believe neelisjansen is saying how the inevitable erosion of roads via human (e.g. cars) or other causes (e.g. soil acidity, rain, etc.) would leech plastic into the surrounding environment. Eventually one might be able to argue that this plastic could be cycled naturally into the watershed or elsewhere.

[@leealexander3507]

I've never understood why anyone would drink nasty syrup in their water aside from carbonating it. Why not just grab a delicious glass of ice water and enjoy it without the sugar or sweetener?

[@thearmyofiron]

same reason to drink juice, maybe

[@aarononeal9830]

Please do an updated video about ecosia they know run on 100 percent renewable energy

[@OurChangingClimate]

I'll put it on the list!!

[@aarononeal9830]

Our changeling climate thank you

[@asciidan304]

Excellent video! Could you consider making one on Nestlé as well?

[@quentinrenault2776]

beautiful video

[@julieshelley9251]

Great video,

[@ericsson_motorsports]

In Sweden we have a similar system as Coke had in the 50s where most plastic bottles have an extra charge added on when you buy them and if you return them after drinking everything you get that money back. Bottles can be returned at any grocery store too. The benefit for consumers is that they don't have to pay for the bottle as long as they return it

[@sandro5535]

Glass is still way better, plastic is great until done with it.

[@07Flash11MRC]

Okay, but how does that help the climate or solve anything? Basically the cost of the production is simply being put on consumers instead of the companies who produce (plastic) bottled sodas.

[@ericsson_motorsports]

@@07Flash11MRC It motivates people to recycle. As long as you recycle, there is no extra cost because you get that money right back. This means that way more people recycle the bottles and is one of the many reasons that Sweden recycles 99% of all trash. Newsflash: Without this system the cost of production is also passed onto the consumers, they aren't just giving you the bottle. With this system you can get paid to give it back, so there's no downside for the consumer

[@Rawr-She]

Rather than spending all that money on marketing and pr, Coke can actually use half of it to produce sustainably and we would not be having this problem in the first place.

[@jlc5271]

As long as consumers keep buying their products, they wont. They prioritise any minor increase in profit over the environment. Consumers need to stop buying those products

[@maltepaulsen4311]

Great Video... also very very sad...

[@vipikipi4942]

*Public service announcement* Here's a list of 20 popular beverage brands of the over 500 brands that are owned by The Coca-Cola Company: • Coca-Cola • Sprite • Fanta • Schweppes • Appletiser • Bonaqua/Aquabona • Römerquelle • Dasani • Smartwater • Powerade • Vitaminwater • Ciel • Minutemaid • Cappy • Capri Sun • Innocent • Costa coffee • Nestea • Fuze tea • Honest

[@tamicute2610]

I'll stick to my local water. Coca-Cola is everywhere and it's a disease.

[@cat_daddy]

I remember collecting returnable glass bottles and returning them in my coaster wagon. Quick money for a little kid.

[@RageModeOnXx]

Getting coca cola ad on this video..... But Great Video !!!

[@m3l0nade]

Loved the video, the editing is great, but I'd like to point out, that the brand Coca Cola is so much more than just the beverage Coca Cola, since the brand includes many other products like Dasani

[@evelyndill5688]

I live near SF and Recology is a fairly progressive waste management company, I'm pretty sure they're responsible for the west coast as a whole. They have a great composting system and they have a program now where they create custom amended compost mixes for ranches and farms to apply to their soil in the fall and boost microbial life to prep it for spring. Waste management companies have a lot of power.

[@KarolaTea]

Isn't using local water supplies a good thing in theory? Like, better than shipping bottled water half across the world? There's still glass CocaCola bottles in Germany, with deposit according to the national bottle deposit system (which also exists for reusable and recyclable plastic bottles as well as drink cans). Coke still uses their iconic bottle shape, so those bottles will only ever be reused for that. But there's also standardised bottles that are used by a lot of brands, which presumably reduces transportation. You can also hand back bottles at every shop that sells them. So you generally don't have the issue of having to carry around an empty bottle.

[@asophcalledskye]

Oof. Will never look at a bottle of Coke the same again. Great video!

[@ishathakor]

growing up i always preferred the glass bottles for juices and soft drinks (i thought they made me look really cool lol, also thought the taste was better) but they've been slowly disappearing over time and i've always wanted to go back to the glass bottle system. taking things like climate change and pollution into account it really is a no-brainer. the added cost to sanitize the bottles is absolutely worth it. also, i genuinely think consumers should get used to LESS convenience. nothing bad is going to happen if you need to hold onto a glass bottle slightly longer.

[@brianblue8176]

Thank you

[@JamieDoyle8]

Governments need to force drinks company like Coca-Cola to take part in bottle return schemes and mandate returnable bottles, it’s done in many countries now, and it has worked before. There’s no way these companies will fix this voluntarily

[@a.m.d5251]

Nice video!

[@OurChangingClimate]

Thank you!!!

[@wiggles19281]

Where do you get your pictures and videos from? thanks!

[@erebusvonmori8050]

Is there any chance on a video on the comparative environmental impacts of soda streams compared to buying soda?

[@MrJoker42369]

I think an even more real way to tacle the source problem would be to stop using single use candy drinks. Drink water from your tap with a glass cup.

[@intuitivme]

In the Netherlands, the larger soda bottles are subject to deposit, they are also much more robust.

[@rhinoTube]

Here in South Africa Coke is cheaper to buy in glass than in plastic, so I will always buy glass over plastic, except if I am traveling long distances in the, because I feel like having a heavy glass bottle in the passenger compartment of the car in the event of an accident is extremely dangerous. I still feel like it should still be the responsibility of the consumer to dispose of empty bottles properly, not that I am saying it is not Coke's responsibility to take a stand and play a bigger role in cleaning up, but there is a much bigger picture here

[@PaulVRo]

hopefully the millennials will bring a generation of capitalists that have ethical business practices and positive society impact at it's core!

[@07Flash11MRC]

Lmfao, Capitalism is the root of this problem! If anything we should exterminate the Capitalists and replace them with eco-socialists 👌

[@twokindsofovenfries32]

Capitalists never have ethical practices because their only concern is profit

[@nazionalpopolare.1919]

capitalism CAN be etic but right now, it isn't

[@grimgoreironhide9985]

@@07Flash11MRC Socialists are not ethical either. The Soviet Union was also a big polluter.

[@07Flash11MRC]

@@grimgoreironhide9985 The Soviet Union was a dictatorship with soviet leaders, which is the anti-thesis of socialism. Don't conflate them!

[@faithmargeuxcaubang7037]

Here, in the Philippines we use both glass and plastic bottles for soda (from Coca-cola, PepsiCo and etc.) It makes me wonder what countires are competely using plastic bottles or completely using glass ones.

[@Lalaithlen]

Here in Spain we have loads of cans and says on it that it's fully reciclable. Dunno...

[@MindEyeMediaVR]

If federal regulation is ever applied to companies such as Coca-Cola, there needs to be caps put on the amounts of money they put on their lobbying and PR efforts. Time and again companies like Coke have shown that they'd much rather look like they're doing something good instead of ACTUALLY doing good.

[@Thelango99]

In Norway we have a deposit system for most bottles.

[@Thelango99]

It's more or less the same as the Swedish system.

[@in5linesofcodeorless552]

do one on ecosia and other eco friendly browsers pls

[@byfrax2371]

i would love a video on the importance of the PE on november 3rd when talking bout climate change

[@Ecotasia]

Not really someone who likes coke, but they make so many other products. Though if they switched to glass that would go to the ongoing sand shortage

[@zin360]

do semiconductor industry next pls, i am pretty sure it does use tonnes of nasty chemicals and resources, we can make people more aware to be mindful before they buy their next computing device

[@gwyn_8562]

i had a phase of not drinking carbonated drinks but eventually came back to it but i might abstain from it again now

[@DanielSimu]

If only we could give you a 4 billion dollar marketing budget...

[@johnnyboi6313]

This comment is just for the KZbin algorithm so more people see this video.

[@lexheart5877]

I dont get notif from your channel even if the settings are correct.

[@flatjohn1841]

And this is just a big small part of the whole climate change thing. I didn't ask to be born here...

[@raresmircea]

8:53 Off course :))

[@MyOtherCarIsA15MinuteCity]

I consider myself lucky, because my parents prohibited us from drinking ANYTHING with caffeine in it. In 5th grade I went on a field trip to the World of Coca-Cola in ’08, and my sister and I split the free bottle with each other. I haven’t had any Coca-Cola since. I know Coke sells a lot of different drinks like Vitamin Water or Dasani, but this video made me feel even better for not indulging in so much soda. More water for me, please

[@lil----lil]

What's worse than an enemy? An enemy pretends to be your friend. Coca Cola is that enemy.

[@amargamentedoce]

Not to mentioned aluminium, that is being removed from mines in the Amazon

[@MrCTruck]

A switch back to glass would not be as green as you assume because glass is heavier meaning less per truck load meaning more trucks, not mention other modes of shipping such as ships and planes which are the dirtiest modes of transportation

[@silverglass6635]

The best way to decrease pollution is not to consume sugary beverages. Even in glass bottles the impact to the environment is high since these bottles have to be washed to be reused.

[@maximnicola4182]

Things are far from good here in Germany, but it's baffling that a simple concept like Mehrwegpfand needs so much explanation for an international audience.

[@obo_Baddest]

Wanangu wa dar es salaam Tanzania..! Nawaona nawaona.

[@jlc5271]

It makes me cringe when I see people buying plastic bottles tbh, it's not a lack of understanding cos everyone knows the plastic problem... just selfishness 😔 consumers drive demand

[@wsams]

That's an insane marketing budget. 4+ billion $ ! Here we're just asking for trash cans around the park and a sidewalk. Dang

[@northern999]

Deposit system for plastic bottles works well here in Germany.

[@cofi7612]

Not only did they change the model for themselves. Where I live they cannibalized the market by actively getting and destroying the glass bottles of the local soda companies that were already stablished. They couldn't keep up with the costs of having to produce new expensive glass bottles so many of them went bankrupt, only the ones that adapted to Coca Cola's plastic model survived

[@jessicaamey8160]

Michigan has a 10 cent bottle deposit which leads us to having one the highest recycling rates of soft drinks in the country. Any non returned bottles helps fund dept of natural resources and the recycling facilities. But wont the plant plastic make it not recyclable with regular recycling?

[@duoname3]

Even if it's just a place bo effect, drink from a glass container taste much better. of course not drink at all should be the best choice, but no hard feeling for a soft drink here and there.

[@TheDane_BurnAllCopies]

0:30 Recycle like we do in Denmark🇩🇰 just a thought😉

[@bpalpha]

Anyone spy the crates beside the early coke machines? Ya know, the ones where you’d return a used (glass) bottle?

[@sethparker3381]

I haven't had a drop of soda in almost 17 months. Don't even want to go back.

[@yisraelplatotzedek9520]

Much kudos to OCC for their work. All facts! All truth! And we ain't even speaking of the fact that the Coke drink itself is toxic to human health!

[@Peter-yl1dk]

Here where i live in romania we recycle with 5 bins , two 40l and three 120l bins

[@deepfakestudio7776]

Romania recicleaza 5% din tot ce produce. Ce se baga in cosurile de gunoi , fie ele si puse separat unde trebuie , te-ar suprinde sa aflii ca la groapa de gunoi toate sunt aruncate unele peste altele . Am vazut reportaj Pro TV stiu ce zic.

[@ianlewis6258]

I stopped drinking soda-pop years ago! I like water, milk, tea and coffee instead! 💐🇺🇸

[@Bromoteknada]

x1.25 speed AT LEAST. It's below 10 mins which probably fucks up the suggestion algorithm, but it's much easier to watch which probably favors the algorithm more than the duration.