Why This Rotorua Store Won't Be Selling Coca-Cola Products Anymore

A Rotorua store has cited environmental and health concerns in its decision to stop stocking Coca-Cola products.

Okere Falls Store announced on its Facebook page that it will no longer be stocking Coca-Cola products from mid-next month.

"We believe what you drink should not only taste good, it should be good for the land," the post said.

It said plastic bottles took more than 500 years to break down and poisoned the environment and wildlife.

Okere Falls Store near Rotorua. Photo/File

For every six plastic bottles bought, only one was recycled. The manufacture of plastic bottles also caused pollution, the post said.

"Put it simply - plastic bottles are an environmental nightmare at every point of their existence."

The post said fizzy drinks should be without preservatives, phosphoric acid and colouring and with "nothing that you can't pronounce and not loaded with sugar".

Many responses to the post have been positive. One congratulate the store for setting an example and another supporting its vision for a healthy environment and healthy people.

Other commenters suggested selling Coca-Cola in glass bottles or offering a plastic recycling service.

One questioned why the store was singling out Coca-Cola rather than other companies that sold drinks in plastic bottles.

By this morning more than 800 people had reacted to the post, 288 had shared it and 79 commented.

nzherald.co.nz