USVI Sues Pepsi and Coke Over Plastic Pollution

Pepsi and Coke bottles are destroying the natural beauty of the Virgin Islands while the companies making plastic pollutants lie about their environmental impact, according to a bombshell lawsuit filed by the Virgin Islands government.

The suit, filed April 11 in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, alleged PepsiCo, PepsiCo Caribbean, The Coca-Cola Company, and CC1 Virgin Islands, LLC, fabricated fables of recyclability, falsely promised to reduce new one-time plastic use, hid the invasive nature

of microplastics, and actively engaged in extensive campaigns to deceive consumers about plastic’s impact.

“PepsiCo and Coca-Cola — the top plastic polluters in the world — have littered the Virgin Islands with their plastic bottles and engaged in a disinformation campaign to make consumers falsely believe that purchasing their products in single-use plastic bottles is an

environmentally responsible choice,” according to the lawsuit, which includes photos of plastic debris on beaches, waterways, and overflowing landfills.

Contrary to statements from the companies, plastic bottles could only be recycled once, if at all, the suit alleged. In 2019, the companies invested $4.24 billion in advertising and marketing but only $11 million to help fund a river cleanup initiative, the same year, according to court records.

“PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are aware that consumers have become increasingly sensitive to sustainability and recycling and have attempted to brand themselves as sustainable, despite the reality,” according to the lawsuit.

The beverage companies were not alone, the suit alleged, and belong to organizations that lobby lawmakers and trade groups to define words like “recyclable” more loosely, push back on low-plastic packaging restrictions and single-use plastic use, and create false-front groups — like Alliance to End Plastic Waste — that only pretend to promote environmental sustainability.