56 firms are responsible for over half of the branded plastic pollution detected in the world's environment, according to international studies.
In a study published on Thursday, 12 international organizations including Australia's national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) provided the first-ever quantification of responsibility for plastic pollution.
Based on data from a five-year plastic waste observation program spanning 84 countries, the research found that 56 companies were responsible for more than half of all branded plastic pollution and 13 companies were each responsible for over 1 percent.
The Coca-Cola Company was the biggest producer of branded plastic pollution, accounting for 11 percent of the global total, followed by PepsiCo at 5 percent and Nestle and French food company Danone at 3 percent each.
All 13 companies were responsible for at least 1 percent were producers of food, beverages or tobacco.
"These findings provide new insights into what plastic products end up in the environment and highlight the importance of solutions to address single-use plastics," CSIRO researcher Kathy Willis said in a media release on Friday.
"This includes safe and sustainable product designs that cut global demand for new products, and increasing reusability, repairability and recyclability."
Overall, the research found that the amount of branded and unbranded plastic pollution in the environment was split 50-50.
Willis urged the creation of international guidelines to strengthen packaging branding in order to increase accountability and traceability of plastic pollution.
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