Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) has attacked the Northern Territory's cash-for-containers recycling scheme, saying it's old fashioned and inefficient, and will increase the price of soft drinks.
CCA chairman David Gonski said the company's own scheme will be much more effective and cost less.
Mr Gonski said at the company's annual general meeting in Sydney on Tuesday that the NT's scheme would not be as effective as the industry's own plan to reduce waste and would raise the prices of their products. This involves using lighter bottles and more recycling bins.
"We do not support container deposit schemes because they are old fashioned, inefficient and very costly for families. In our view, the last thing Australia needs is a tax on beverages," Mr Gonski said.
CCA's AGM was attended by a number of protesters who had bought shares in the company in order to be able to attend the meeting and question senior management.
On the eve of Coca-Cola Amatil's AGM, Greenpeace has launched a television advertisement, highlighting the beverage giant's efforts to sabotage a national 'cash for containers' scheme.
"Coca-Cola has relentlessly bullied politicians, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars silencing recycling advocates and taken the Northern Territory (NT) Government to court to crush the Territory's community-supported scheme," said Reece Turner, senior campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
"Behind Coke's slogans and sunshine, the beverage giant is trashing Australia."
The crowd-funded ad also seeks to encourage Australians to tell state Premiers to stand up for the environment by supporting a national 'cash for containers' scheme.
"Coke's efforts to crush this scheme are brazen and damaging to the environment.? State premiers must stand up to Coke's bullying by making their support for an effective 'cash for containers' scheme loud and clear.
"With the support of Australians who want to see the health of our waterways and wildlife put ahead of corporate arrogance, we aim to get this advertisement on television screens across the country."
Australians use between 13-14 billion drinks containers a year and Clean Up Australia estimates that 45% of the rubbish collected every Clean Up Australia Day is beverage industry-related.
