The environmental movement, launched in 2016, has helped clear the coasts of 42 countries around the world of discarded plastics.

“These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis,” said Von Hernandez, the Global Coordinator of Break Free From Plastic, at the presentation of the study in Manila. Between September 9 and 15, over 10,000 volunteers carried out 239 plastic cleaning actions on coasts and other natural environments in 42 countries. They collected more than 187,000 pieces of plastic, of which more than 65 per cent were from products by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestle. But companies such as Danone, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble, were also mentioned.

“The companies can be part of the problem or they can be part of the solution”, Hernandez told Efe. 

“If they continue using problematic plastic packaging they are just encouraging more production and more pollution”. Around 100,000 pieces of plastic collected were made of materials like polystyrene, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or the film of single-use plastic that were not biodegradable, the report said.