Plastic ‘neutrality’ a corporate greenwashing solution

We would like to raise our concerns about a false solution mentioned by Peter Wallace in his Sept. 23, 2021 column.

Mr. Wallace praised Nestlé Philippines for its implementation of plastic “neutrality.” He said that through this initiative, the company is able to take back as much plastic waste as it puts into the market, which could end up as pollutants in land or world oceans.

But based on the waste brand studies conducted by the global formation #BreakFreeFromPlastic, Nestlé has consistently landed among the top 10 global corporate plastic polluters for the past five years. Nestlé’s promotion of “plastic neutrality” signifies that the company has no genuine plan of cutting back on its plastic waste production and has no intention of taking responsibility for the pollution and other environmental impacts caused by its consumer products.

The concept of plastic “neutrality” was coined by fast-moving consumer goods companies to remarket and rebrand themselves as “green” while they continue their resource-intensive, highly-wasteful practices. This concept is nothing but corporate greenwashing to deceive consumers and the public.

Companies collect single-use, low-value plastic waste and multi-layer packaging materials for disposal, then claim these as offsets to the equivalent plastic waste generated by their own products. These collected plastics are mostly burned in cement kilns or incinerators, which results in the creation of more toxic compounds that are released into the air and surrounding communities. The production and burning of plastic also release huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

By claiming plastic “neutrality,” Nestlé finds an excuse to continue dumping huge amounts of plastic into the market and the environment instead of focusing on the immediate reduction of waste and pollution in its business activities.

Plastic pollution extends to all stages of plastic’s life cycle and not only its disposal. What Nestlé should do is to adopt genuine extended producer responsibility practices that are based on clean and sustainable production and the significant reduction of generated single-use plastic waste.

The global company has the capital and capacity to be able to design and use reusable packaging materials, mainstream alternative delivery systems such as refill stations for its products, and genuinely support zero-waste programs for its partner communities.

REI PANALIGAN
Project National Coordinator
Plastic Free Pilipinas