Hablan Basura: El manual corporativo de soluciones falsas a la crisis del plástico

The report argues that major plastic polluters use voluntary initiatives as a 'smoke screen' to delay, distract, and derail progressive legislation. It analyzes the commitments of the ten largest plastic polluters and over 50 joint initiatives, finding them lacking in ambition, transparency, and accountability. The document details industry tactics such as shifting blame to consumers and promoting chemical recycling, while calling for mandatory legislation, including 90% collection targets and deposit return systems.

• The plastic industry employs a 'corporate playbook' of three main tactics—delay, distract, and derail—to prevent the implementation of progressive legislation. Delay tactics include lobbying to protect the status quo and using grandiloquent voluntary commitments to convince lawmakers that mandatory measures are unnecessary. Distraction tactics involve shifting blame to consumers through campaigns by groups like Keep America Beautiful and promoting 'patch' solutions such as beach clean-ups or marine plastic products. Derailing tactics include pushing for preemptive laws to block future bans and using trade associations to influence policy.
• Analysis of the ten largest plastic polluters—including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Unilever—reveals that voluntary commitments are often disproportionate to the crisis and lack transparency. Many companies fail to report independently verified data or meet their own goals; for instance, Coca-Cola's goal since 1990 to use 25% recycled PET (rPET) in bottles has only reached 10% three decades later.
• Joint industry initiatives, such as The Alliance to End Plastic Waste and the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, are criticized as lacking accountability and ambition. The report notes a contradiction where members of the Alliance committed $1.5 billion to waste solutions while investing $186 billion in new petrochemical facilities between 2010 and 2017.
• The plastic industry has exploited the Covid-19 pandemic to advocate for the continued use of single-use plastics and to push for regulatory rollbacks of environmental legislation, using questionable scientific studies to cast doubt on reusable products.
• The report identifies 'chemical recycling' and bio-based, biodegradable, or compostable plastics as 'false solutions' that distract from the root problem and may have negative climate and toxicity impacts.
• Regional case studies show inconsistent corporate behavior: Coca-Cola, for example, has expressed support for some EU bills while continuing to lobby against deposit return systems (SDDR) in Kenya.
• The production of virgin plastic resin is a significant contributor to climate change, with current growth rates suggesting it could consume 10-15% of the total carbon budget for 2050.

APA

Tangpuori, A. D., Harding-Rolls, G., Urbancic, N., & Zallio, X. P. B. (2020). Hablan Basura: El manual corporativo de soluciones falsas a la crisis del plástico. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Spanish-ExecSum.pdf

Chicago

Tangpuori, Alice Delemare, George Harding-Rolls, Nusa Urbancic, and Ximena Purita Banegas Zallio. Hablan Basura: El manual corporativo de soluciones falsas a la crisis del plástico. Changing Markets Foundation, 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Spanish-ExecSum.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tangpuori |first1=Alice Delemare |last2=Harding-Rolls |first2=George |last3=Urbancic |first3=Nusa |last4=Zallio |first4=Ximena Purita Banegas |title=Hablan Basura: El manual corporativo de soluciones falsas a la crisis del plástico |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=September 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Spanish-ExecSum.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tangpuori2020hablan, author = {Tangpuori, Alice Delemare and Harding-Rolls, George and Urbancic, Nusa and Zallio, Ximena Purita Banegas}, title = {{Hablan Basura: El manual corporativo de soluciones falsas a la crisis del plástico}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Spanish-ExecSum.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }