Description: Recent research from the journal Science Advances has given us an interesting breakdown of the sources of our obvious plastic pollution problem. Using data gathered from over 1,500 events over the period 2018-2022, researchers at Dalhousie University found four big brands contributed 20 percent of the problem, with Coca-Cola leading with 11 percent and Pepsi following at five percent. Given that less than 10 percent of plastic is recycled, co-author Tony Walker indicated that it will take far more than consumer recycling to solve the problem.

Date:  April 24, 2024

Source:  cbc.ca

 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/plastic-study-canada-1.7182609

Discussion points:

1) Did you use a plastic container today? What brand was it? Where did the empty container end up?

2) What would have to change in our accounting theory to make the costs of the plastic pollution a cost of the manufacturers and vendors?

3) In Chapter 5 of Wiley’s Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making we learn about activity-based costing. Can you think of how a company might track the costs of having to deal with its plastic waste?