Coca-Cola will not ditch single-use plastic bottles because 'consumers still want them'

Coca-Cola has said it will not ditch single-use plastic bottles as its head of sustainability insisted consumers still prefer to use them.

Bea Perez told the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that customers like the bottles because they reseal and are lightweight.

Coca-Cola, one of the world’s biggest producers of plastic waste, has pledged to recycle as many plastic bottles as it uses by 2030.

But critics have hit back, saying many of the bottles would go uncollected and still end up in landfill.

Ms Perez said the firm recognised it had to be "part of the solution" in curbing global plastic pollution.

However, she said the company could not ditch plastic outright, saying this could alienate customers and hit sales, adding that using only aluminum and glass packaging could increase its carbon footprint.

"Business won't be in business if we don't accommodate consumers," she said.