Australia's soft-drink habit is a soft plastic crisis

Refilled has produced a report into the Australia's love for soft-drinks that is resulting in a plastic waste crisis.

Australia’s soft drink habit is leading to a soft plastic crisis. We are putting electric cars on the road, solar panels on our rooftops, so why are we still letting billions of plastic bottles end up in landfill with virtually no intervention?

Australians drink millions of soft drinks every week, which are mostly sold in plastic bottles. Only one in five are ever recycled, and those that are can only be recycled twice before they can no longer be used again. This means that virtually every plastic bottle sold in Australia ends up in landfill.

We need to recognise the staggering environmental impact of the soft drink industry, so that we can make changes to the industry and to human behaviour. We can look to the food industry for inspiration. More people are limiting their red meat consumption because of the environmental impact of beef, or putting more thought into the distance their food travels from farm to plate. I want more people to think of their drinks the same way. We should all be asking where was this packaged, how did it get here, how could I make more climate friendly decisions? Young people are doing this with their food, but not with their drinks.

The data proves that soft drinks have become a normal part of day-to-day life for Australians. These drinks are hugely popular in virtually every demographic, so we need rethink how we consume them without all the waste.

Ryan Nelson, Refilled CEO and Founder

‍

Full report below