Despite the Paris Olympics organizers banning single-use containers, Coca-Cola continues to use plastics extensively.
On Tuesday, the organizing committee set a goal to cut single-use plastics by half compared to the 2012 London Games, despite the widespread use of Coca-Cola bottles at its venues. Staff continuously serve Fanta, Sprite, and Coke and have been seen transferring beverages from plastic bottles into reusable cups, which contradicts the Games’ environmental commitments.
In May, Coca-Cola committed to providing more than half of its 18 million refreshments to spectators in non-single-use plastic containers. However, the company admitted it still relies on plastic packaging due to “technical and logistical constraints,” despite a ban on spectators bringing such containers to Olympic venues.
An AFP journalist reported that staff pour beverages from glass bottles into branded cups at the swimming event sites. Although the organizers have installed 700 drinking fountains, plastic bottles remain in use where glass is impractical, according to Georgina Grenon, the head of sustainability for the Paris Games.
In a recent press release, Coca-Cola explained the necessity of adapting to each venue’s specific conditions to ensure safety and food quality, referencing constraints such as water and electricity availability and storage limitations.
Despite these challenges, organizers project that the Paris Games will significantly reduce plastic usage compared to the 2012 London Games. Grenon remains optimistic about achieving a 50% reduction in single-use plastic. However, she clarified that they do not include bottles poured into cups in this reduction target.
France Nature Environment (FNE), an environmental protection charity, criticized Coca-Cola for contributing to “unjustified plastic pollution” and awarded the company the “gold medal for greenwashing” at the Olympics.
Coca-Cola, one of the largest global producers of plastic bottles, produced 134 billion plastic bottles in 2022. The company aims to manufacture all its bottles from fully recycled plastic by 2030. Coca-Cola reported that approximately 6.2 million bottles used at the Paris Games would be made from recycled PET plastic.
