Pepsi Drops Recycled Plastic in Gatorade
From Plastics Recycling Update Oct01

Pepsi-Cola Co. (Purchase, New York) has decided to eliminate the use of recycled PET in Gatorade bottles, thus reducing the demand for post-consumer resin (PCR), and calling into question the food and beverage industry giant's commitment to recycling.
In mid-October, Pepsi's Quaker Oats unit told Continental PET Technologies (Toledo, Ohio) to stop buying PCR for use in Gatorade containers and to deplete its existing supply of recycled resin. Pepsi and The Quaker Oats Co. (Chicago) merged in August.
Gatorade had used mechanically processed PCR on a commercial scale for about eight years, with consumption averaging about 35 million to 40 million pounds annually in recent years. According to several industry experts, Pepsi officials said that using PCR "brought no value" to the company and that the beverage producer favored chemical recycling in which scrap PET is broken down into its chemical constituents and then repolymerized.
The action brought immediate calls for an aggressive response. For example, deliberations are underway within the Association of Post Consumer Plastic Recyclers (Arlington, Virginia) and the GrassRoots Recycling Network (Athens, Georgia) as to how to get Pepsi to reverse its action.
Published by Resource Recycling Jerry Powell, Editor-in-Chief P.O. Box 42270 Portland, OR 97242-0270 (503) 233-1305; 233-1356 (fax) pru@resource-recycling.com  www.resource-recycling.com