Coca-Cola, Walmart to cut plastic pollution in oceans

Montreal : Coca-Cola, Walmart and other big multinationals pledged yesterday to help reduce plastic pollution in the world’s oceans in support of a campaign by five of the G7 industrialized nations. Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy, along with the European Union, signed the Ocean Plastics Charter at a leaders’ summit in Canada’s Charlevoix region in June.

The United States and Japan abstained but non-G7 nations Norway and Jamaica are also backing the plan to ensure 100 percent of plastics are recyclable by 2030. On the second day of a G7 ministerial meeting in Canada’s Atlantic port city of Halifax, Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced “a new partnership with businesses” to reduce plastics waste. Backers include Loblaws, Walmart, Nestle Canada, IKEA, Dow Chemicals, the Coca-Cola Company, BASF Canada and A&W Canada.