In a bid to curb plastic pollution, Pepsi and Coca Cola sever ties with Plastics Industry Association 

Global soft drink-making giants Coca Cola and Pepsi have decided to abandon the plastic lobby and are reportedly trying to increase the volume of recycled plastic in the manufacturing of their packaging. 

According to American media reports, the companies are trying to ensure that their packaging is recyclable - a move to ensure stepping away from single-use plastic. 

Pepsi and Coca Cola are among the newest beverage-making giants to have hopped onto the bandwagon of companies that have severed ties with Plastics Industry Association - a trade association that represents the plastics industry.

Clorox, Becton Dickinson and Ecolab were among the companies that had ended their association with the PIA last year. 

In a statement issued last week, Coca Cola said that the company's commitments and goals are not consistent with PIA's position.

There seems to be an increase in mounting pressure on companies across the globe to limit the use of plastic - or initiate using more recycled plastic - in the wake of escalating plastic pollution. 

According to UN Environment, single-use or disposable plastic has "severe environmental consequences".

"Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once — and then thrown away," the UN body says on its website, adding that today around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is being produced annually which equals to the total weight of the entire human population on the planet.