Beyond the Ban: Unveiling Challenges and Solutions in the Fight Against Plastic Waste

By Suzanna Schofield

Rainwater is no longer safe to drink.^[i] And one of the main culprits is the amount of microplastics present in the environment.^[ii] 

To combat the health and environmental implications of plastic, legislation has been increasing to regulate plastic and PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.^[iii] One of the most recent plastic bans is in the state of Massachusetts. In September 2023 during Climate Week NYC, Governor Maura Healey announced that Massachusetts would be the first state to adopt a procurement ban on single-use plastic bottles.^[iv] Signing Executive Order No. 619: Eliminating the Purchase by the Executive Department of Single-Use Plastic Bottles, executive departments in Massachusetts were to stop purchasing single-use plastic bottles immediately. Per the executive order, a “single-use plastic bottle refers to a beverage in a sealed rigid plastic bottle having a capacity of 21 fluid ounces or less.”^[v] As Massachusetts buys roughly 100,000 of plastic water bottles each year,^[vi] this executive order is hopefully one step closer to more states, and even on a federal level, passing more policies on plastic regulation.

But, the question remains, is this ban enough to make progress in the state?

The executive order is only for Massachusetts executive departments, which means that it doesn’t include the municipalities, colleges, or businesses that are also within the state. This is especially concerning as every year people in Massachusetts generate 3.4 billion plastic bottles of waste.^[vii] Further, plastic bottles are not the only source of plastic waste. For example, every year, Massachusetts produces 2 billion plastic bags of waste every year despite the regulation of single-use plastic shopping bags in over 160 Massachusetts cities and towns that represent 70% of the state’s population.^[viii] Thankfully, in 2024, the Massachusetts Senate passed the Massachusetts Plastic Reduction Bill that bans single-use plastic shopping bags at retail shops, restricts automatic distribution of plastic utensils and straws, and creates a paper bag fee to encourage reuse.^[ix] Still, there is limited information regarding implementation of this bill. Meanwhile, plastic continues to be used and thrown away across the state. It’s clear that though bans are making progress in regulating and reducing plastic usage and waste, they are not enough to combat the ever-growing concern that plastic poses.

Zooming into college campuses, single-use plastic bottles are still in wide use. At one liberal arts college, as most dining halls close at 7pm, the only source of caffeine after a long night of studying is going downstairs to the vending machines, which are located in nearly every dorm, where you can spend three dollars on a 20 fluid ounce bottle of Coca-Cola. These vending machines are also the only source of food on campus after 10pm when the last dining hall closes. It's also important to note that this last dining hall is on one side of campus, far away from four of the dorms. During the winter months, it’s the consensus of many students that walking fifteen to twenty minutes one way in below freezing temperatures is not worth the food. For the students that can afford it, services like Uber Eats and DoorDash are commonly used. Other students depend on the vending machines, but three dollars for one bottle of Coca-Cola is a lot of money leaving the only source of food and caffeinated drinks after 10pm fairly inaccessible. Environmentally, the reliance on services like Uber Eats and DoorDash and on vending machines still poses the problem of waste, and specifically plastic waste.

These problems seen at a campus-level scale are reflections of larger problems. Coca-Cola sells more than 100 billion plastic bottles every year, or 200,000 bottles a minute.^[x] They have been declared the world’s biggest polluter.^[xi] In a study looking at the contracts between beverage companies and public U.S. universities with 20,000 or more students active in 2018 or 2019, it was found that 87% have either contracts with Coca-Cola or Pepsi.^[xii] 95% of these contracts included at least one provision tying payments to sales volume. The study also found that “universities can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, some even millions, from volume-based payments.” This is extremely concerning, and one of the reasons that single-use plastic bottles are a large proportion of plastic waste every year. Companies like Coca-Cola have the financial means to incentivize universities and colleges, businesses, and many other types of organizations to continue purchasing plastic, which just continues the demand for more Coca-Cola products. While communities suffer from plastic waste, Coca-Cola continues to see extreme profit. For example, the Chief Executive Officer made $22.3 million in the 2022 fiscal year.^[xiii] This is unacceptable. As the detrimental impact of single-use plastic bottles extends beyond individual campuses, it is imperative to recognize the need for comprehensive regulatory measures.

Therefore, the recent Massachusetts procurement ban on single-use plastic bottles for Executive Departments and the Massachusetts Plastic Reduction Bill are great steps in reducing plastic waste in the state. It will serve as the first of hopefully many regulations passed by other states to combat the plastic waste crisis we are facing as a nation and as a globe. With eight in ten American adults supporting policies to reduce single-use plastic in a poll by Oceana, and the growing health and environmental concerns of plastic usage being brought to light, plastic regulation will become more and more common.^[xiv] However, to truly combat the plastic waste crisis, companies like Coca-Cola must be held responsible. Bans cannot just occur at the state or local levels, they must occur nationally to place the necessary pressure to make change so that communities and the environment can stop suffering from plastic waste.

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[i] "It’s Raining PFAS,” EurekAlert!, accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/960122. 

[ii] John W. Scott et al., “Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS) Associated with Microplastics in a Lake Environment,” Toxics 9, no. 5 (2021): 106, https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics9050106.

[iii] John W. Scott et al., “Perfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS) Associated with Microplastics in a Lake Environment,” Toxics 9, no. 5 (2021): 106, https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics9050106.

[iv] ““Gov. Maura Healey Bans Massachusetts Agencies From Purchasing Single-Use Plastic Bottles,” accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/09/18/gov-maura-healey-bans-massachusetts-agencies-from-purchasing-single-use-plastic-bottles/?sh=530174aacfb6.

[v] “Massachusetts: First State to Enact Procurement Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bottles | Mass.Gov,” accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-first-state-to-enact-procurement-ban-on-single-use-plastic-bottles.

[vi] Associated Press Associated Press, “Massachusetts Becomes First to Ban Purchase of Single-Use Plastic Bottles by State Agencies,” PBS News, September 21, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/massachusetts-becomes-first-to-ban-purchase-of-single-use-plastic-bottles-by-state-agencies.

[vii] “Massachusetts Is Drowning in Single-Use Plastics. Why Not Ban Them? - The Boston Globe,” BostonGlobe.Com, accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/18/science/ban-single-use-plastics/.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] “Massachusetts Senate Acts to Ban Plastic Bags, Reduce Straw and Plasticware Usage, Boost Recycling and Composting,” Press Room, June 20, 2024, https://malegislature.gov/PressRoom/Detail?pressReleaseId=103.

[x] “Coca-Cola’s Plastic Pollution Problem | Sierra Club,” accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/blog/2022/12/coca-cola-s-plastic-pollution-problem.

[xi] Break Free From Plastic, 2023 Global Brand Audit: The Coca-Cola Company Is Once Again the Top Global Plastic Polluter | Break Free From Plastic, Corporate Accountability, February 7, 2024, https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2024/02/07/bffp-movement-unveils-2023-global-brand-audit-results/.

[xii] Eva Greenthal et al., “Incentives and Penalties Tied to Sales Volume in Contracts between Beverage Companies and Public Universities in the United States,” Journal of American College Health 72, no. 4 (2024): 1279–88, https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2076098.

[xiii] “Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer James Quincey Salary at COCA COLA CO,” accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.salary.com/research/executive-compensation/james-quincey-executive-member-of-coca-cola-co.

[xiv] “Coca-Cola, Criticized for Plastic Pollution, Pledges 25% Reusable Packaging | Reuters,” accessed August 27, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/coca-cola-criticized-plastic-pollution-pledges-25-reusable-packaging-2022-02-10/.