The U.S. Virgin Islands are fed up. In a new lawsuit, they say Coca-Cola (KO, Financials) and PepsiCo (PEP, Financials) have misled people for yearspromising their plastic bottles are recyclable when most end up as trash choking island landfills and washing onto beaches.

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Island officials say it's not just frustratingit's unsustainable. Tourists come for clean shores, but what they're seeing is plastic. And it's mostly from Coke and Pepsi products.

The lawsuit highlights a stark contrast: in 2019, the companies spent $4.24 billion on ads but only $11 million on actual cleanup. The message, according to the suit, was all about brandingnot responsibility.

This isn't the first complaint. Los Angeles took the soda giants to court last year, too, accusing them of spreading false hope about plastic. That case is still in play, but island leaders say their situation can't wait.

Patrick Boyle, from the Center for International Environmental Law, summed it up: On an island, there's nowhere for plastic to go. It just stayson land, in water, in people's lives.

The Virgin Islands want cleanup costs covered and want the companies to stop claiming what isn't true. More than money, they're asking for honestyand a change in how these global brands treat the places their products reach.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.