Worried about the environmental impact of plastic bottles, environmental groups are asking the cola giants of the world to rethink their packaging strategy.
Coca cola and PepsiCo, the two largest cola manufacturers and producers of bottled mineral water have a 55 percent market presence. Their drinks are sold all over the globe in attractive plastic bottles that more often than not land up on the rubbish heap after use. To understand the impact of plastic on the environment one just needs to go on a trip to the beach where plastic rubbish floats around and dots the shore line. In fact 86 percent of ocean debris is made up of plastic.
For many animals the plastic problem is so bad that they die of chocking because they cannot distinguish plastic from other edible material. 
Added to that is the fact that plastic starts to disintegrate into smaller bits due to solar radiation and oxidation. These bits are still plastic polymers which break down into smaller particles and find their way into water tables, creating a kind of slow poison brew.
Companies that use plastic for packaging need to wake up and take responsibility for the waste their packaging generates.
Sustain, a UK-based campaigning group focusing on food and drink, has also urged the UK government to set an example to consumers. Jeanette Longfield, the charity’s co-ordinator, said,
If public bodies are using taxpayers’ money to buy bottled water then they are not in a position to preach to consumers about changing their habits.
The solution seems to be that everyone needs to work together, the manufacturers by using and recycling plastic packaging, the government by providing incentives to manufactures to recycle and the public, by reducing their consumption of goods packaged in plastic.
Its no use pointing fingers at one another, ultimately everyone lives on the same planet. And it matters to everyone to take responsibility for their impact on the environment.
