Pepsi, Coca-Cola to blame for plastic waste crisis in US Virgin Islands, lawsuit alleges

The U.S. Virgin Islands authorities is suing PepsiCo and Coca-Cola implicit the companies' alleged roles successful the territory's "dire" integrative discarded problem.

The suit claims the companies person deceived consumers by advertizing their single-use integrative bottles arsenic an "environmentally liable choice," according to an April 11 filing in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.

The defendants named successful the lawsuit besides see CC One Virgin Islands, LLC, a beverage distributor, and PepsiCo Caribbean, a part of PepsiCo.

"Due successful important portion to Defendants’ behaviour successful falsely promoting and distributing single-use plastic, the Virgin Islands faces a discarded absorption crisis," the suit says.

USA TODAY contacted PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and CC One Virgin Islands connected May 14 but has not received a response.

'The concern is present dire'

The Virgin Islands authorities accuses the companies of contributing to a integrative discarded occupation due to the fact that they merchantability "excessive amounts of beverages packaged successful single-use integrative bottles without implementing oregon paying for an environmentally liable mode to dispose of them."

The authorities besides said the territory's 2 landfills person been adjacent oregon astatine capableness for years and volition request to beryllium unopen down successful the coming years. Recycling is besides "particularly hard and expensive" due to the fact that barges indispensable beryllium utilized to transport the items disconnected the island, according to the lawsuit.

"There is constricted abstraction for landfills connected the islands, importantly expanding the trouble successful uncovering a viable solution to the detonation of integrative waste," the authorities said successful the filing.

The ailment further adds that "the concern is present dire."

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Lawsuit alleges PepsiCo, Coca-Cola person deceived consumers astir integrative use

The suit further alleges that some PepsiCo and Coca-Cola knowingly deceived consumers and "have engaged successful disinformation campaigns" regarding single-use plastics.

"PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are alert that consumers person go progressively delicate to sustainability and recycling and person attempted to marque themselves arsenic sustainable, contempt the reality," the suit says.

The plaintiffs said selling campaigns from some PepsiCo and Coca-Cola implicit the years person misled consumers into believing the companies' products are environmentally sustainable.

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How bash single-use plastics interaction the environment?

Single-use plastics are a benignant of integrative that is utilized erstwhile earlier being thrown distant oregon recycled, specified arsenic soda bottles, straws and java stirrers, according to Plastic Free Challenge.

Once these items are thrown away, they are often dumped astatine landfills and tin extremity up successful the ocean, wherever they tin instrumentality centuries to interruption down, according to Oceana.

In turn, these plastics interruption down into smaller pieces known arsenic microplastics, which tin harm humans and animals if ample amounts are ingested implicit time, research shows.

Meanwhile, the integrative manufacture rejects immoderate of this research.

Matt Seaholm, CEO and president of the Plastics Industry Association, said successful a caller connection to USA TODAY that integrative provides "unmatched safety, protection, and ratio crossed countless applications portion offering the imaginable for reuse and recycling."

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

Melina Khan is simply a trending newsman covering nationalist quality for USA TODAY. She tin beryllium reached at MKhan@gannett.com. 

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: US Virgin Islands sues Pepsi, Coca-Cola implicit integrative waste