Manila (AFP)

Tens of thousands of plastic waste polluting the planet are generated by a handful of multinationals including Coca-Cola, Nestle or Pepsico, assured Break Free from Plastics, a global coalition of NGOs, in a report published Wednesday in Manila.

This international coalition of 1,475 environmental organizations including Greenpeace, reproaches these multinationals for clearing, for the most part, the responsibility of cleaning pollution due to their activity.

Coalition volunteers collected nearly half a million pieces of plastic waste during a "Global Clean Up Day" coordinated in 51 countries a month ago, of which 43% are recognizable brands.

For the second year in a row, Coca-Cola ranked first among polluters with 11,732 plastic waste collected in 37 countries on four continents this year.

Among the top ten producers of plastic waste collected are also Nestlé (4,846), Pepsico (3,362), Unilever (3,328) Procter & Gamble (1,160), Philip Morris (2,239) and Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, Perfetti Van Mille and Mondelez International, according to the ranking of the coalition.

While many Asian countries dump their waste into the oceans, "the real culprits for the bulk of plastic pollution in Asia are the multinationals with headquarters in Europe and the United States," the report said.

Solicited by AFP, the groups Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé have not commented on this report in the immediate future.

While brands generally recognize their role in spreading this pollution, the report finds that they "go to great lengths to promote false solutions to the problem."

Promoting recycling is their way of bringing the responsibility to consumers, the report adds, noting that just 9% of all plastics produced since the 1950s have been recycled.

© 2019 AFP