Los Angeles County Sues PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Over Plastic Pollution, Recycling Deception

Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo and Coca-Cola on October 30, arguing that the companies misled the public on product recyclability and the impact of plastic pollution on the environment.

According to the lawsuit, as documented by Reuters, the county is filing a suit for public nuisance and violations of unfair competition law and false advertising law and is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, abatement and civil penalties.

In the lawsuit, the county argues that PepsiCo and Coca-Cola were intentionally misleading about the recyclability of plastic beverage containers, and the lawsuit alleges that the companies knew that the plastic beverage containers could not be thrown out or recycled without impacting the environment. The county also noted that making, throwing out and recycling plastic all still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and negatively impact the environment.

“Los Angeles County is committed to reducing the use of plastic and protecting the environment,” Los Angeles County Board Chair Lindsey Horvath said in a statement. “Coke and Pepsi need to stop the deception and take responsibility for the plastic pollution problems your products are causing. Los Angeles County will continue to address the serious environmental impacts caused by companies engaging in misleading and unfair business practices.”

According to Break Free From Plastic’s 2023 Global Brand Audit, which was released in February 2024, Coca-Cola is the top plastic polluter globally, a position it has held for six consecutive years based on the audit. 

Other top polluters in the report include Nestlé, Unilever, PepsiCo, Mondelēz International, Mars, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Danone, Altria and British American Tobacco. As The Associated Press reported, Coca-Cola produces an estimated 3.224 million metric tons of plastic each year, and PepsiCo produces around 2.5 million metric tons of plastic per year.

The lawsuit also stated that these two companies are some of the world’s top plastic polluters and alleges their plastic bottles have littered the county, accumulating on land and in waterways to threaten wildlife and public health and costing the county resources to clean up the mess. According to the lawsuit, plastic is also the top type of litter on land in the state and makes up most of the list of top 10 littered products on beaches in the state.

Los Angeles County highlighted circularity claims by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and argued that these claims were deceptive to consumers.

“However, in reality, plastic bottles can only be recycled once, if at all, making promises of a ‘circular economy’ impossible,” the lawsuit stated. “Moreover, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have pushed forward purported solutions, like chemical recycling, that they know, or should know, will not solve the problem. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have also made false promises that they would increase the use of recycled plastic by certain percentages and eliminate the use of virgin plastic.”

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are part of the American Beverage Association, which responded denying the lawsuit’s claims over plastic recycling labels and highlighting a 71% bottle recycling rate in 2023, The Associated Press reported.

In 2023, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) reported to authorities over misleading recyclability claims by multiple companies, including Coca-Cola. That complaint argued that labels with details such as “100% recyclable” or “100% recycled” were vague or false.

“The reality is single use plastic is neither circular nor sustainable. Recycling can never catch up with the sheer volume of plastic produced on our planet,” Rosa Pritchard, plastics lawyer at ClientEarth, said of the BEUC legal complaint. “Companies are in a unique position to change how we consume but currently these claims — which we consider to be misleading — are making it hard for consumers to make good environmental choices.”