#27: Bad Press
This story is an example of how the phrase “recycle and reuse” can backfire. This storyteller’s dad used to work for a giant billboard company that made its advertisements out of heavy-duty vinyl. In an effort to reduce waste, the company would repurpose the vinyl ads into tarps. These tarps were then donated to developing countries to serve as tents and shelters.
Seems like an overall positive effort, right? Well, not exactly. Our storyteller revealed that one year there was a tsunami that washed thousands of the company’s donated tarps out to sea. Camera crews were zooming in on the waste, identifying brand names on the tarps and creating a bunch of bad press. Coca-Cola doesn’t want to be known as an ocean polluter, even if they actually are one! Needless to say, they weren’t too happy.