Plastic pollution blights the streets, beaches, parks, and lawns of Baltimore. A significant amount of that litter bears the circular red-and-blue Pepsi logo or the flowing white script of Coca-Cola’s branding.
But, legally speaking, none of that rubbish is Pepsi’s fault. Or Coke’s.
That’s what a Baltimore city circuit court judge ruled this summer following a legal battle in which the city and county of Baltimore sought money from PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and others to clean up plastic pollution. Companies “conducting lawful activities,” wrote Judge Audrey J.S. Carrión, referring to the sale of single-use plastics, “should not be held liable under public nuisance claims because others are misusing the products in an unlawful manner.”
In other words, plastic pollution is a problem of consumer behavior, not corporate irresponsibility. As far as the state’s public nuisance law is concerned, a company’s liability ends at the point of sale.
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