Emma Newburger reports for CNBC
KEY POINTS
- Facing public pressure over contributions to plastic pollution, drink makers Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are cutting ties this year with a trade association representing the plastics industry.
- The beverage giants join other companies like Clorox, Becton Dickinson and Ecolab, which ended memberships with the Plastics Industry Association last year.
- The organization, representing manufacturers, has lobbied for states to prohibit plastic bans across the country.
Facing public pressure over contributions to plastic pollution, drink makers Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are cutting ties this year with a trade association representing the plastics industry.
The beverage giants join other companies like household products company Clorox, medical device firm Becton Dickinson, and hygiene and cleanings tech company Ecolab, which ended memberships with the Plastics Industry Association last year.
The organization, representing manufacturers, has lobbied for states to prohibit plastic bans across the country. Some of the firms that left in 2018 cited disagreements with the lobbying group over plastic bag preemption laws.
“We withdrew earlier this year as a result of positions the organization was taking that were not fully consistent with our commitments and goals,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told CNBC.
A PepsiCo spokesperson said that the company initially joined the Plastics Industry Association to learn about material innovation, but will end its membership at the end of the year since it “does not participate in the policy advocacy work of the association or its subsidiaries.”
