Consumer Perspectives on Selective Sustainability: Inequities in Recycling Access and Corporate Accountability of Multinational Beverage Company. : A Comparative Analysis of Recycling Infrastructure and Corporate Responsibility in Global West vs. Glo

This study examines disparities in recycling accessibility, revealing that systemic inequities, such as infrastructure gaps and economic disparities that significantly influence consumer participation. Through surveys, geospatial mapping, and case studies across Germany, Sweden, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kanya and Indonesia, we expose how multinational beverage giants like CocaCola and PepsiCo uphold a double standard. In affluent markets, these multinational companies sleek recycling systems like Germany’s Pfand scheme and recover 98% of bottles, while in the Global South, where single-use plastic floods streets and rivers, and as a result consumers face broken promises. In regions like Jakarta or Nairobi, corporate sustainability campaigns often fail to address local challenges, including limited bin availability and low wages for informal waste pickers, resulting in high rates of plastic pollution. Yet hope emerges from grassroots resistance for example, Indonesia’s "Trash Banks," where plastic are trades for rice, resulting in achieving 68% participation by centering dignity over charity. This research demands accountability by binding global laws to fund equitable infrastructure, fair wages for informal workers, and sustainability strategies co-designed with marginalized communities. Until then, recycling will be remaining as a privilege for the few, and not a right for all.