Coca-Cola

n June 2007 a research team from the India Resource Center visited a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Sinhachawar, only to find that wastewater and hazard waste was being pumped into the nearby farm fields and a local canal that pumps into the river Ganges. The Central Pollution Control Board of India had already asked Coca-Cola to clean up 8 of their plant sites in 2003. India Resource Center, 06/04/2007

A 2006 report by the Container Recycling Institute and As You Sow grades America’s top beverage companies on their efforts to use recycled content, increase recovery and recycling, and reduce the amount of material used to bottle their beverages. Coca-Cola received an overall grade of C with a 2.1 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Coca-Cola received a D for recycled content, C+ for recovery & recycling, and B for source reduction. Although Coke did use 10 percent recycled plastic in 2005, it has not committed to continuing this practice in the future. In December 1990, Coca-Cola and Pepsi both committed to using plastic beverage bottles with 25 percent recycled plastic, but the commitment was never actually fulfilled. Container Recycling Institute, 10/01/2006

At the 2006 shareholder meeting, the As You Sow Foundation is calling on Coca-Cola to "review the efficacy of its container recycling program and prepare a report to shareholders, by September 1, 2006, on a recycling strategy that includes a publicly stated, quantitative goal for enhanced rates of beverage container recovery in the U.S. The report, to be prepared at reasonable cost, may omit confidential information." Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, 05/01/2006

In July 2003 a BBC investigation revealed dangerous levels of toxic metals and a known carcinogen--cadmium--in a waste product from the company's plant in Kerala India and which the company had given to local farmers to use as fertilizer. The BBC radio show "Face The Facts" took water samples from the wells surrounding the company and had the fertiliser analyzed in Britain. Analysis conducted at the University of Exeter revealed that not only was it useless as a fertiliser but it contained a number of toxic metals, including cadmium and lead. The water in near-by wells also had levels of lead "well above those set by the World Health Organisation," the BBC said.

The plant had also come under attack from local community members because of its use of water resources. In April the Kerala government revoked the water-use permit of the plant because of fears that the exploitation of groundwater would lead to serious ecological damage and drought. A Parliament member from a local district warned that disruption of water supplies could affect not just drinking water but also irrigation in an area known for its rice paddies. Since May 2002 there have been daily pickets outside the plant. Coke denied the charges and insist that groundwater levels have not been affected by it facility. The revocation was overturned in court. BBC News, 07/24/2003

The Supreme Court of Panama issued a $300,000 fine to Coca-Cola for a massive chemical coloring spill in the Bay of Panama and a nearby river. According to Panama's National Environmental Authority, 4,500 liters of red dye spilled from a Coke processing facility which turned a portion of the bay and river red, though the spill had no lasting effects on animal or plant life in the bay. Associated Press, 05/08/2003

The Kerala High Court overruled the southern state’s ban on Coca-Cola and Pepsi products on the basis that such a decision did not fall “within the legal powers that rest with the government.” The southern state of Kerala banned the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products after the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found high levels of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals in their products. Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan expressed great disappointment on this decision: "We hope the judges will hear our detailed arguments and correct their judgment, saving the health and lives of people.”

The state government of Kerala had banned the production and sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in early August 2006. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan announced this decision in response to scientific studies, primarily by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), revealing hazardous chemicals, such as lindane, chlorpyrifos, and heptachlor, in the companies’ products. The decision also comes in the wake of a four-year campaign by the community of Plachimada to permanently close the soft drink giants’ operations in the region. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are now being banned in government and educational institutions by several states in India, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. Regulations to govern consumer safety for soft drinks are underway in India.

On July 1, 2006 community leaders from Mehdiganj, India ended a seven day hunger strike protesting Coca-Cola’s bottling operations. Activists were asking that Coca-Cola take responsibility for the negative ramifications its bottling plant had on surrounding villages, including water shortages, pollution of agricultural land and groundwater, illegal occupation of land, tax evasion, and poor treatment of its workers. The Central Pollution Control Board of India (CPCB) has agreed to set up an inquiry regarding Coca Cola's role in water contamination. Nearly 1,000 people from over 40 surrounding villages attended events and activities in support of the campaign. India Resource Center, 09/22/2006

The Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) comprehensive study, covering 25 different manufacturing plants over 12 Indian states, found dangerous levels of pesticides in all samples of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi products tested. On average, Coca-Cola drinks contained 27 times higher pesticide residues than the standards outlined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). According to CSE this poses serious health effects; even small doses of pesticides such as lindane, chlorpyrifos, and heptachlor, are known to cause cancer, neurological problems, and other health disorders. Centre for Science and Environment, 08/02/2006

According to the India Resource Center’s June 2006 report “Ground Water Resources in Plachimada,” there are harmful long-term effects to Coke’s operations, such as extreme water shortages, crop damage, contamination of soil and groundwater, and serious health problems for local villagers and former workers. All 9 water samples, collected within a one kilometer radius of the plant, failed to meet the safety standards for drinking water as outlined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the samples contained excessive levels of dangerous toxic chemicals. Coca-Cola has avoided answering to the Indian government and people on the issue of water contamination due to cadmium in the Plachimada plant’s sludge. Two previous orders by the Kerala Pollution Control Board were ignored: one called for Coke to build an effluent treatment facility to deal with wastewater, the other required the company to pipe potable water into communities for residents most vulnerable to water shortages.

Coca-Cola breached Indian law at its Plachimada bottling plant in southern India by continuing its “trial operations” on August 8, 2005. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board subsequently ordered Coke to "stop production of all kinds of products with immediate effect" at the plant on August 19. The Plachimada plant was originally pressured to stop operations in March 2004 due to complaints from the local community about pollution and an alarming loss of potable water.

In January 2004, the Indian parliament banned Coke and Pepsi products from being sold in its cafeteria. According to the non-profit group CorpWatch, "The ban came as the result of tests, including those by the Indian government, which found high concentrations of pesticides and insecticides, including lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos, in the colas, making them unfit for consumption. Some samples tested showed the presence of these toxins to be more than 30 times the standard allowed by the European Union."

The India Resource Center also notes that Coca-Cola was implicated in a bribery scandal involving Kerala Pollution Control Board member K.V. Indulal. In 2003, Mr. Indulal maintained that the level of pollution coming from Coke’s bottling plant in Plachimada met acceptable standards. Shortly thereafter, the BBC and the Kerala Pollution Control Board launched separate investigations, both of which found environmental conditions beyond tolerable levels. India Resource Center, 06/01/2006

According to CorpWatch, Coca Cola laces the beverages its sells in India with large doses of caffeine, which is known to be addictive, without citing it on the labels. The Indian group, Centre for Science and Environment, reportedly demanded that Coca-Cola display labels with "advisory statements to the effect that the beverage contains caffeine and the same is not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women and individuals sensitive to caffeine." CorpWatch, 02/06/2004