Environmental conscience

I am writing this letter to you because I am deeply troubled. As an American citizen who has lived and worked in Indonesia, I too, am concerned about preserving the beauty and overall majesty of your country of more than 13,640 islands.

In America, manufacturers are expected to produce products that do not degrade or pollute the environment. It is a company awareness policy to do so because of public and bureaucratic pressures. And the public is developing an environmental conscience.

We have noticed that the Coca Cola company operating in Indonesia has not taken the same initiative as it has been forced to elsewhere. Specifically, the pull-off pop tops. In America, the tops pull open but are not released from the top of the can, the can and top remain together. In Indonesia, any pop top that is pulled usually gets indiscriminately tossed to the ground. Indonesian beaches and public places are quickly becoming disfigured. Pop tops cut feet on the beach, find their way into fish stomachs and deface the pristine character of your natural resource. Why Coca Cola in Indonesia has failed what it has done elsewhere is a travesty. Such an industry leader should take the lead in environmental concerns. We fault the parent company for failure to do so.

TED AND JEAN HENNING

Arlington, USA