Paris 2024 Olympics: Coca-Cola's mixed messages on single-use plastic

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Le Monde or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Coca-Cola, the exclusive beverage distributor for the Paris 2024 Olympics, promotes its commitment to reducing single-use plastic, yet over 40% of drinks will still come in plastic bottles

🔭 The context: While Coca-Cola and the Games' organizers highlight the use of water and soda fountains, returnable glass bottles, and eco-cups, a confidential memo reveals that three-quarters of the planned drinks for sale will be served from plastic bottles

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Despite using recycled plastic (rPET), the reliance on single-use bottles undermines efforts to reduce plastic waste, as recycled PET can degrade and absorb contaminants, limiting its reuse compared to glass bottles

⏭️ What's next: Environmental groups are pushing for more stringent measures to eliminate disposable plastics entirely, calling for increased use of truly reusable alternatives like glass bottles

💬 One quote: "Coca-Cola is using a subterfuge, eco-cups, to hide a reality – the persistence of the massive use of plastic bottles," said Axèle Gibert, coordinator of France Nature Environnment's waste network

📈 One stat: Three-quarters of the 9 million drinks planned for sale at the Olympics will come from plastic bottles

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