Coca-Cola's Plachimada plant — a bottling factory that depleted a village's water

In 2000, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) opened a bottling plant in Plachimada, a small village in the Palakkad District of Kerala, India. The plant was one of Coca-Cola's many bottling facilities across India. The company began extracting groundwater for production. Villagers soon reported that their wells were running dry and the available water became contaminated and toxic.

The factory was extracting 500,000 litres of groundwater per day, depleting local water sources. A BBC investigation and subsequent tests by the University of Exeter found that the factory's sludge waste, distributed as free fertilizer, contained unacceptably high levels of cadmium and lead. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board confirmed these findings and ordered Coca-Cola to stop distributing its waste.

In April 2002, villagers — mostly Adivasi (indigenous) — began protests by blocking the factory entrance. The protests continued for two years. In March 2004, the factory was shut down following continued protests and litigation. In 2005, the plant briefly operated for one week before being closed again.

In July 2017, HCCB informed the Supreme Court of India that it did not intend to restart operations at the plant. The court dismissed all related appeals. A government High Powered Committee estimated damages to the community at ₹216.26 crore (about $28 million) for agriculture loss, health damage, cost of providing water, wage loss, and pollution. As of 2018, no compensation had been paid. The factory was later converted into a COVID-19 treatment center in 2021.