An Earth Day challenge has gone out to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to reduce their use of plastic.

Tearfund is urging members of the public to write to the soft drink giants to ask them to dramatically reduce the amount of single-use plastic they sell in developing countries.  So far, 40,000 people have responded to the invitation to contact Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. 

The Christian development agency says that the amount of plastic used in Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products is driving the global climate crisis. 

This is in part because developing countries do not have adequate waste disposal and recycling facilities to cope with the amount of rubbish generated from the sale of soft drinks and other goods that use single use plastic. 

Instead, people in poorer countries resort to burning their waste on street corners, in open dumps and in backyards, causing huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to be emitted into the earth's atmosphere. 

The call for change comes on Earth Day, being marked around the world on Wednesday to raise awareness of climate change and encourage people to do their bit to protect the environment. 

Tearfund launched its 'Rubbish Campaign' back in 2019 targeting plastic pollution and calling on Coca-Cola,  Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to take responsibility for their role in the problem. 

Last month, Tearfund published a damning report called "The Burning Question" in which it said that the four brands were responsible for half a million tonnes of plastic pollution being dumped or burnt across just six countries - Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, India, China and the Philippines.

Coca-Cola contributed the most, the report said, at around 200,000 tonnes a year, followed by PepsiCo at 137,000 tonnes. 

In a league table established by Tearfund to track progress, Unilever comes out on top for its commitment to halving its use of virgin plastics by 2025 and its pledge to collect more plastic than it sells. 

However, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo trail far behind, with neither company committing to targets to reduce their plastic use by 2025, or pledging to invest in reusable packaging or the elimination of packaging.

Dr Ruth Valerio, director of global advocacy and influencing at Tearfund, said: "The steps taken to date by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are a far cry from the action necessary to tackle a crisis of this magnitude.

"This Earth Day, with its 50th anniversary theme on climate action, it is more important than ever that these companies urgently reduce their reliance on single-use plastic and switch to refillable and reusable packaging alternatives.

"Today is also the AGM of Coca-Cola where important decisions about its future will be made. We are calling on the public to use their voices to speak up and demand further action and responsibility from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's CEOs - for the sake of people living in poverty and the climate."

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo did not respond to a request for comment.