Race to Create Space: Plastic Bottle Offers Lightweight Response to Consumer Concerns

Plastic remains the material of choice for bottled water, but corporations using it face increasing criticism from consumers concerned about environmental impacts. In the rush to keep their market on the bottle, so to speak, Pepsi plans to reduce the amount of plastic used by 20 percent, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Pepsi also plans to begin producing the bottles at the same plants in which they are filled, as well as to vacuum pack bottles without cardboard for shipping. These changes, the company says, should significantly reduce the amount of energy required to create and transport their commodity.

According to a report from the Pacific Institute, making the bottle itself constitutes the highest energy cost a water packaging company incurs. While Nestle, Coca Cola and Pepsi compete for more environmentally sound bottles, advocates of tap water consumption worry that their efforts may convince consumers put “a green veneer on a plastic bottle.”

Gigi Kellet, national director of a “Think Outside the Bottle Campaign” for Corporate Accountability International, reminded the Wall Street Journal that bottled water is still “costly for the environment, our pocketbooks and our public water systems.”

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Source: Wall Street Journal