[GreenYes] Pepsi Drops Recycled Plastic in Gatorade

["Bill Sheehan" <zerowaste@grrn.org>]

From the October, 2001 "Plastics Recycling Update":

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 PostConsumer 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 

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