PepsiCo to eliminate virgin plastic from LIFEWTR and bubly water brands by 2020

03 Jul 2019 --- PepsiCo has announced that premium bottled water brand LIFEWTR will be packaged in 100 percent rPET and that bubly sparkling water will no longer be packaged in plastic by 2020. Bubly will instead be packaged in aluminum cans. The company's AQUAFINA water brand will also offer aluminum can packaging in US food service outlets, while the brand tests the move in retail.

The changes, which all go into effect next year, are expected to eliminate more than 8,000 metric tons of virgin plastic and approximately 11,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

These moves represent PepsiCo’s latest progress towards making 100 percent of its packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable and using 25 percent recycled plastic content in all its plastic packaging by 2025.

“As one of the world's leading food and beverage companies, we recognize the significant role PepsiCo can play in helping to change the way society makes, uses, and disposes of plastics,” says PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.PepsiCo's new bubly aluminum cans.

“We created LIFEWTR to be an inspirational and purpose-driven brand, and we're expanding that vision by using recycled packaging to deliver our premium water,” adds Stacy Taffet, Vice President Water portfolio for PepsiCo.

Naked Juice, a category leader in premium fruit and veggie juices and smoothies, has been working since 2009 to ensure its bottles are made of 100 percent rPET and can be turned into bottles again and again. By making its bottles with rPET, the brand also uses about 25 percent less energy than if it used virgin plastic.

The use of rPET is on the rise. Last month, Coca-Cola announced that its GLACÉAU smartwater bottles will be made from 100 percent rPET by the end of the year in a move that is expected to remove 3,100 tons of virgin plastic from circulation.

However, it is not only multinationals that are driving the use of rPET. Start-up Garçon Wines has achieved international recognition for its 100 percent rPET flatline wine bottles. Speaking to PackagingInsights at the Global Packaged Summit 2019 in Amsterdam, CEO and Co-Founder Santiago Navarro described the long-term economic benefits of rPET, despite the challenges of cost-effectiveness and availability in comparison to virgin PET.PepsiCo's new Aquafina aluminum cans, available in US food service outlets.

“My view is that costs are relative. In the short-term and when looking granularly at the costs of a single unit of product, then recycled PET is more expensive than virgin PET. However, the overall costs – the mid- to long-term costs – of using virgin PET are much greater. This will be seen very clearly in the years to come by all those across the plastics value chain as they are partially made to bear the costs of cleaning up the mess that has been created,” Navarro explains.

“As to the availability of rPET, I am confident that both industry and governments will massively increase the availability of this material. For the time being, companies and countries may need to look to their neighbors for help. There is nothing wrong with short-term help if there are plans afoot to have easier access to the material. I know there are many organizations looking into this at advanced stages,” he adds.

PepsiCo is one of the largest users of food-grade recycled PET in the world and the company is also working to help reliably increase the supply needed to meet its packaging goals. In tandem with current suppliers and partners like The Recycling Partnership, Loop Industries, Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and World Economic Forum's Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), PepsiCo is aiming to both increase recycling rates and improve the plastic recycling infrastructure.