Coca-Cola has teamed up with the United Nations Office for Project Services to support recycling efforts and expand job opportunities for waste pickers in Pakistan.
Tribal News Network reported that the company's philanthropic arm, the Coca-Cola Foundation, has slated $500,000 USD for the project titled "Sustainability and Decent Work in Pakistan's PET Recycling Value Chain." The pilot program will launch in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The territory produces an excess of 3,300 tons of household waste each day, and nearly 80% of it is recyclable. However, systemic inefficiencies cause many items to slip through the cracks.
As part of the project, waste pickers and waste handlers will gain access to professional safety training.
The aim is to provide them with "safer, better organised, and more dignified work opportunities" while reducing plastic pollution in Islamabad and across Pakistan, which generates nearly 2.2 million tons of plastic waste annually, per the report and WWF.
Coca-Cola notoriously earned the title of the world's worst plastic polluter for six consecutive years. Critics argue it isn't doing enough to clean up its mess and say it overstates the impact of its eco-friendly efforts — a sales tactic known as greenwashing.
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However, while the company could undoubtedly do more to clean up its act, similar programs from Coca-Cola have undeniably had a positive community impact, while also providing consumers with an opportunity to support eco-friendly initiatives from mainstream brands. The Ravi River Restoration Project, for instance, is helping to replenish water reserves in Pakistan.
Geir Tonstøl, country director of the International Labour Organization (ILO), attended the agreement signing for the latest project along with Dr Faisal Hashmi, senior director of public affairs at Coca-Cola Pakistan, and Jennifer Ankrom, country manager UNOPS Pakistan.
The ILO's role will be to provide technical expertise related to worker rights and labor standards.
"This collaboration with UNOPS demonstrates The Coca‑Cola Foundation's commitment to advancing waste collection and management systems while ensuring that those at the heart of the system, the informal waste pickers, receive the recognition, protection, and opportunities they deserve," Coca‑Cola Foundation president Carlos Pagoaga said in a media release.
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