Coca-Cola has been labelled the worst culprit for plastic pollution by an environmental pressure group.

In a list of the top-polluting companies worldwide, Break Free From Plastic said tens of thousands of plastic pieces could be traced back to a handful of multinational corporations.

This comes after it held 484 cleanups in more than 50 countries during September. 

Coca-Cola came out on top, with 11,732 pieces of plastic collected. This was more than the next three top global polluters combined.

Coca-Cola said it is working to address “this critical global issue”.

Von Hernandez, global coordinator at Break Free From Plastic said that the report provides more evidence that corporations urgently need to do more to address the plastic pollution crisis they’ve created.

“Their continued reliance on single-use plastic packaging translates to pumping more throwaway plastic into the environment. Recycling is not going to solve this problem.”

Nestlé and PepsiCo were also named amongst the biggest culprits on Wednesday by Break Free from Plastic.

Others in the top 10 polluters include Mondelez International, Unilever, Mars, P & , Colgate-Palmolive, Philip Morris and Perfetti Van Mille, it said.