Last year, Greenpeace revealed major corporations like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were among the worst producers of plastic trash in the world. After growing pressure from the public and environmental groups, the soft drink giants have finally broken ties with the Plastic Industry Association.

Victory for Sustainability

Both companies’ exit from the organization acts as a landmark decision in their commitments to more eco-friendly practices. The organization, which represents plastic manufacturers, has encouraged states to prohibit plastic bans throughout the nation.

Greenpeace’s Ocean Campaign Director, John Hocevar, said the announcement serves as a “victory for every person that spoke up” against the corporations’ major contributions to plastic pollution.

“Companies understand that they cannot publicly say they want to end plastic pollution, while financially supporting an association that lobbies for our continued reliance on throwaway plastics,” Hocevar said in a statement.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Leaving Plastic in the Past?

In withdrawing from the lobbying group, both companies cited disagreements without disclosing the exact policies prompting their departure. Coca-Cola told CNBC the association’s values “were not fully consistent with our commitments and goals.”

PepsiCo had similar rhetoric. The company stated its membership didn’t include participation “in the policy advocacy work of the association or its subsidiaries.”

Further, it claims it joined the plastic lobby to become better educated about material innovation. In lieu of plastic, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been searching for alternatives that are easier to recycle, such as aluminum. Recently, PepsiCo revealed it would start replacing its Aquafina plastic bottles with aluminum cans at restaurants and fast-food chains across the nation.

By 2025, PepsiCo aims to make all packaging for its products fully recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable. The company also has vowed to reinvent their packaging for their plastic water bottles by using 25% recycled material. Coca-Cola has also made major pledges for their environmental goals. Last year, the corporation established a World Without Waste campaign.

Specifically, the campaign would involve collecting and recycling the equivalent to every bottle or can sold worldwide by 2030. Additionally, Coca-Cola also plans to make its products’ packaging out of 50% recycled material over the next eleven years.

The companies have also announced commitments to significantly change recycling in the United States and decrease plastic waste. For instance, Coca-Cola has pledged to make its packaging fully recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Pepsi vowed to make all of its products recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable by that same year.

“Tackling plastic waste is one of my top priorities and I take this challenge personally,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said. “We are doing our part to address the issue head-on by reducing, recycling and reinventing our packaging.”

More Brands Ditch Plastic

The Plastic Industry Association said the reason several brands were ending membership with the group was due to Greenpeace. Other notable brands that left the lobbying group last year include Clorox and medical tech business Becton Dickinson. Patty Long, the interim president and CEO of the organization, described the environmental group’s efforts “unfortunate.”

“Consumer brands are integral to making sustainability commitments into realities, by working with their suppliers to make lasting change,” Long wrote in an email to CNBC. “For example, our members work together to align their efforts to put recycling and sustainability at the forefront of their businesses.”

Conclusions

As more companies (and local governments) start to stray away from plastic, it goes to show the public’s call for environmental action and accountability is not going unheard — not even by major corporations.