Douglas Ivester
Who Wastes Polyester
A
poem by Kat Bradley-Bennett ©1998 (with apologies to Dr. Seuss!)
This
is the tale of Douglas Ivester,
A corporate giant who wastes polyester.
Douglas, you see, is the chairman of Coke®,
They use plastic bottles, so many you'd choke.
Bottles for Coke, Fruitopia®, and Sprite®,
Machines spit them out from morning 'til night,
They're all polyester, as pure as you'll get,
Number One plastic, we just call it PET.
Twenty million a day, a number fantastic,
And each single bottle is all virgin plastic.
But here's a conundrum over which you can fret:
Coke bottles in Europe are recycled PET.
Eight years it has been since Coke made a claim,
Using the power of their well-known name,
To be good to the Earth in a way that was drastic,
And use in America recycled plastic.
They held a big rally, their big plan to stress,
They wanted the photos, they called in the press.
"We'll do what is right!" Ivester did call,
"We'll use post-consumer, we'll carry the ball!"
"Hooray!" we all shouted, in glory Coke wallowed,
"If Coke takes the lead, then Pepsi® will follow!"
Recyclers rejoiced, they now could begin
To collect plastic bottles to be made new again.
But Coke never bothered, they thought we'd forget,
They broke their big promise, they hedged on their bet.
While recyclers keep trying to recycle their PET,
Coke doesn't use any recycled PET yet.
From out of the crowd, from under the din
Came a wee voice from a small lass named Lynn,
"Excuse me, Ivester, I don't mean to pester,
But why do you only use new polyester?"
"Harumph!" Douglas growled, "We don't have to change,
"For selling more Coke is the name of our game!
"Recycling won't work, we just can't afford it,
"We made you no promise, we're not working toward it."
But Lynn was undaunted, she knew what was right,
She cared for her planet all day and all night.
She was a recycler, in her heart she knew
That recycling is making old stuff into new.
She knew plastic bottles that hold soda pop
Can be made into carpet or a warm, fleecy top,
And old soda bottles can be made into new,
Using recycled PET is the RIGHT thing to do.
Lynn pulled out her money, about eighty cents,
And holding it out, up to Douglas she went.
"This is our voice," she said with a quiver,
"You know what we want, and you won't deliver!"
"Now, Douglas Ivester, who wastes polyester,
"On this solemn oath may you and Coke fester,
"If you'd kept your promise you wouldn't be broke,
"So from this day on I will never buy Coke!"
Douglas just stared, he said not one word,
This tiny wee voice so loudly was heard.
Lynn said to the crowd as she turned on her heels,
"It's time now for Coke to do what is real!"
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