In February, the world watched as each country’s best athletes competed for gold at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. What viewers missed was the mountain of single-use plastic waste generated at the games.
Coca-Cola is responsible for much of this plastic waste because the company decided to sell its beverages at the event in single-use plastic bottles. It didn’t need to be this way. The event organizers and Coca-Cola, as the leading beverage sponsor, should have done better — for the athletes, the spectators, the host communities, and for the planet.
Global sporting events influence significant investments in host cities’ local infrastructure, and the Olympics have historically left behind physical legacies of new or upgraded venues and transportation systems. This development must be done thoughtfully and sustainably to minimize environmental impacts and ensure that longer-term objectives are met. These major events present crucial opportunities to establish reusable packaging systems that new and existing venues can operate long past the closing ceremony.
Progress at the Paris Summer Olympics
Two years ago, the Paris Summer Olympics and Coca-Cola decided to serve beverages in reusable cups and show the world that these systems can work at large-scale events. Organizers reported achieving a 70% reduction in the number of single-use plastic bottles used and a 52% reduction in single-use plastic on the supply of drinks compared to the London Summer Olympics in 2012. In addition to reusable cups, these outcomes were also attributed to selling returnable glass bottles and encouraging personal reusable bottles.
Athletes have also asked for more reuse. Ahead of Paris, more than 100 elite athletes and sport organizations from around the world called on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to dramatically increase reusable packaging and eliminate single-use plastic at the Games and future sporting events.
While the rollout in Paris was imperfect—some soft drinks were poured into reusable cups from single-use plastic bottles and Olympic-branding on the reusable cups made them attractive to take home as souvenirs—these issues were opportunities for improvement, not excuses to revert to business as usual. Instead of building on Paris’s progress, Coca-Cola and Milano Cortina took a downhill slide backwards to single-use plastics.
Recycled Plastic Bottles are Still Single-Use
Coca-Cola has touted using 100% recycled PET bottles and rolling out campaigns to encourage recycling at this year’s Games. The company also recently abandoned a global goal to expand reusable packaging, sending a message that this is no longer a priority. But let’s be clear: bottles made from recycled plastic are still designed for one-time use. They get tossed after a single drink, and despite well-meaning recycling efforts, far too many will still end up in the environment and oceans.
Additionally, research has shown that the plastic recycling process is a significant global source of microplastic pollution, posing risks not only to the environment and oceans, but also to human health. In 2023, researchers in the United Kingdom detected microplastics in production wastewater from a PET recycling facility, estimating that the single facility discharges 130,000 to 2.61 million pounds of microplastics annually (6% of the plastic produced). The study also revealed high levels of microplastics in the air around the recycling facility.
Reusable Packaging is the Best Solution
Reusable packaging is the best solution the beverage industry has for addressing its contribution to the plastic pollution crisis facing our planet. In well-designed systems, reusable cups can be used over one hundred times, reducing waste and the carbon footprint of packaging. In 2024, Oceana estimated that just a 10-percentage point increase in reusable beverage packaging by 2030 could eliminate over 1 trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups and prevent up to 153 billion of these containers from entering the world’s oceans and waterways.
In planning for Milano Cortina, Coca-Cola and event organizers had the opportunity to establish permanent infrastructure for reuse systems at host venues. Instead, they missed this chance to demonstrate environmental leadership at one of the world’s most watched events. But it’s never too late to get back on the right track.
There’s always room for a comeback, a fresh start, and a shot at the gold—especially when it comes to protecting the planet and oceans. There’s still time for Coca-Cola and event organizers to implement sustainable practices and prioritize reusable packaging at this summer’s FIFA World Cup and at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028. Show the world that the Olympics—and all major events—can be more than just a spectacle. They can be catalysts for a more sustainable future.
Dr. Dana Miller is Oceana’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, where she leads the organization’s global corporate campaigns to stop the flow of single-use plastics into our oceans. To learn more about Oceana’s plastics campaigns, click here.
