Partnership will deploy innovative
capture technology in waste reduction efforts to collect, remove
and analyze waste found in Canada's Great Lakes
TORONTO, Sept. 27,
2024 /CNW/ - Today, The Coca-Cola Company in
Canada is announcing a
partnership with the Canadian not-for-profit, Pollution
Probe, on its Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative, the
largest initiative of its kind in North
America. As part of its partnership, The Coca-Cola Company
is sponsoring a new remote-controlled, mobile waste collector
called a PixieDrone that will help Pollution Probe collect floating
debris, including plastic, flowing into the Great Lakes.
The Coca-Cola Company is supporting the piloting of technology
which will help remove plastic and other debris found in the Great
Lakes, the largest freshwater system in the world. The drone was
tested on Lake Simcoe, along the waterfront in Barrie, Ontario and will later be used at
other Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup locations across the Great Lakes
region starting Spring of 2025.
"We are proud to support Pollution Probe on this important
initiative", said Avi Yufest, Senior Director, Public Affairs,
The Coca-Cola Company in Canada.
"Our company recognizes its responsibility to help address the
plastic waste crisis. Projects like this, in addition to packaging
innovations and recycling efforts, are one of the ways we are
working to help keep our waterways and environment clean from
plastic debris."
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, an initiative of Pollution
Probe and the Council of the Great Lakes Region, currently operates
at more than 150 sites across the Great Lakes, including the St.
Lawrence River and Lake Simcoe, working alongside more than
105 collaborators. The new PixieDrone will join over 135 other
plastic capture technologies already deployed by the initiative
throughout the Great Lakes.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to work together with
committed partners like The Coca-Cola Company to increase the
impact of our collective efforts to end plastic pollution in the
Great Lakes." said Christopher
Hilkene, CEO, Pollution Probe. "The addition of the
PixieDrone to our network of capture technologies will allow us to
visit even more locations and communities, and to remove
significantly more plastic from the environment."
The Coca-Cola PixieDrone will target floating debris in all
forms including organic, plastic, glass, metal, paper, rubber, etc.
and can collect approximately a bathtub's worth of waste (160
litres) in a single 6-hour charge.
Data and information on the types and amounts of plastic removed
are collected and analyzed to better understand the plastic
pollution profile for the Great Lakes region.
To date, the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative has already
reported filtering an estimated 12.2 billion litres of water and
removed nearly 200,000 pieces of floating waste including plastic
debris, bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers and more. The
majority of the plastic removed to date are microplastics,
including small plastic fragments, foam pieces, and pre-production
plastic pellets – highlighting that even little bits can become a
big problem.
In addition to supporting the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, The
Coca-Cola Company is also supporting Pollution Probe's Turning the
Tides: Emerging Leaders Against Plastic Pollution program, which
aims to empower young adults to take positive, tangible action to
end plastic pollution in their local communities.
This partnership is one of several that supports The Coca‑Cola
Company's World Without Waste initiative.
For additional information on the tangible steps The Coca-Cola
Company is taking to refresh its packaging in service of
sustainability,
visit www.coca-cola.ca/responsible-business.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company
with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our
company's purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We
sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage
categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands
includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our water, sports, coffee and
tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa,
Georgia, Gold Peak and Ayataka.
Our juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands
include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del
Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We're constantly transforming our
portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative
new products to market. We seek to positively impact people's
lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment,
packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon
emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our
bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping
bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn
more at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Instagram,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
About Pollution Probe
Established in 1969, Pollution Probe is a national, non-profit
organization that exists to improve the health and well-being of
Canadians by advancing policy that achieves positive, tangible
environmental change. Pollution Probe has a proven track record of
working in partnership with industry and government to develop
practical solutions to environmental challenges. Visit
www.pollutionprobe.org for details.
About the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, an initiative of Pollution
Probe and the Council of the Great Lakes Region, uses innovative
capture technologies to prevent and remove plastic in the Great
Lakes, from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Superior and everywhere in between. By
analyzing the plastic collected, the initiative provides vital
information about pollution sources and pathways, while engaging
local communities, government, industry, and consumers around how
we can all work together to end plastic pollution. The largest
initiative of its kind in North
America, the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup is made possible
through support from a network of funders and collaborators across
the binational Great Lakes region. Visit
www.greatlakesplasticcleanup.org to learn more.
SOURCE The Coca‑Cola Company