New York (Washington Insider Magazine) —The New York Attorney General’s Office analyzed all the waste collected at 13 sites in the Buffalo River and its tributaries and said it found that PepsiCo’s plastic containers “far exceeded” any other source of this waste so it decided to take action by filing a lawsuit against the company for alleged plastic pollution.
Single-use plastic produced by the company allegedly “contributes significantly to high levels of plastic pollution along the Buffalo River,” contaminating drinking water and harming wildlife, officials said.
The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo caused substantial public harm in Buffalo, failed to warn consumers about the potential health and environmental risks of its single-use plastic packaging, and misled consumers and the public about their efforts to combat plastic pollution.
The legal action seeks to require PepsiCo to end “practices that threaten the environment and the public” and civil penalties and restitution for harm inflicted on New York communities and the environment.
“No company is too big to ensure that its products do not harm our environment and public health. “All New Yorkers have a basic right to safe drinking water, however, PepsiCo’s irresponsible packaging and marketing endangers Buffalo’s water supply, environment and public health,” said Attorney General Letitia James.
PepsiCo said in a statement that it was serious about “plastic reduction and effective recycling,” but did not directly comment on the lawsuit’s claim that it was legally responsible for keeping trash out of the Buffalo River, according to the agency. AP.
PepsiCo, based in New York state, manufactures, produces and packages at least 85 different brands of beverages and 25 brands of snacks that come predominantly in single-use plastic packaging, according to authorities.
“Plastic packaging has become a persistent and dangerous form of pollution along the banks of the Buffalo River and in its watershed,” the Attorney General’s Office said in announcing the lawsuit.
In 2022, the prosecutor’s office conducted a survey of all types of waste collected at 13 sites along the Buffalo River; of the 1,916 pieces of plastic trash collected with an identifiable brand, more than 17 percent were produced by PepsiCo.
“PepsiCo’s plastic containers far exceeded any other source of this identifiable plastic waste along the river, and were three times more abundant than the next largest contributor,” she detailed.
Between 2013 and 2022, approximately 78 percent of waste collected by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper volunteers in the Buffalo River watershed was plastic.
The prosecution explained that significant quantities of single-use plastic food and drink packaging were found each year, including food wrappers, plastic bottles and bottle caps of the type produced by PepsiCo.
This type of packaging, once in the environment, quickly begins to decompose and release dangerous microplastics.
A national study by the non-governmental organization Break Free From Plastic aggregated 2,125,415 items of plastic waste from 2,373 separate collections across the United States between 2018 and 2022.
In each year, the study documented PepsiCo as the number one or two manufacturer of brand-name plastic trash collected throughout the United States, the prosecutor noted.
“Large amounts of microplastics have been found in the Buffalo River, and an analysis of those fragments has confirmed the presence of microplastics in snack wrappers and polymers of the type used in PepsiCo plastic bottles and bottle caps,” he added.
The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo has significantly contributed and continues to contribute to the existence of a public nuisance that harms the community living in the city of Buffalo, and the environment.
“PepsiCo has also misled the public about the effectiveness of its plastic recycling and its efforts to combat plastic pollution. For example, PepsiCo’s statements have misled consumers and the public by creating the impression that the company was making significant progress toward reducing the use of non-recycled (virgin) plastic in its packaging, but no such progress is being made. “, the lawsuit stated.
Over the past four years, PepsiCo’s use of virgin plastic has increased year over year, according to the New York Attorney General’s Office. “In 2022 alone, PepsiCo acknowledged that the use of virgin plastic in its plastic packaging increased by 11 percent.”
James also accuses PepsiCo of failing to warn its consumers.
This article is originally published on eldiariony.com