[GreenYes] RELEASE: PepsiCo Shareholder Recycling Vote

["Bill Sheehan" <bill_sheehan@mindspring.com>]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2001

Contact:
Lance King  (703) 536-7282
Bill Sheehan (706) 613-7121

PepsiCo Shareholder Vote for Recycling –
'8.1 percent Yes is an excellent result'

83.3 Million Share 'Yes' Vote on Recycling Assures
Proposal
Can Be Brought Back Again, According to Rules Set by
U.S. SEC

DALLAS, TX (May 2, 2001)  – Investors holding 83.3
million shares of  PepsiCo, Inc. (Ticker: PEP), worth 3.7
billion dollars, voted to support a shareholder resolution
on recycling at the company's annual meeting today in
Plano, Texas.

"Investor sponsors of the PepsiCo shareholder recycling
proposal called the 8.1 percent 'yes' vote today an
excellent result," said Lance King, spokesman for the
environmental groups supporting the shareholder
recycling proposal.

"PepsiCo's board and management graciously listened to
all our speakers.  Hopefully the company will take the
strong shareholder message to heart and begin to examine
ways to improve its recycling practices by setting specific
goals," Bill Sheehan, network coordinator for the
GrassRoots Recycling Network, said.

Supporters of the recycling resolution secured enough
support to bring the proposal back again next year,
according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
rules governing shareholder proposals.

Kenneth Scott, representing Walden Asset Management
and Domini Social Investments, co-sponsors of the
shareholder resolution, made the presentation in support
of the shareholder recycling proposal (Item Number 6).
The non-binding proposal calls for PepsiCo, Inc. to
achieve two specific recycling goals by January 1, 2005:

· Make plastic bottles with 25 percent recycled
plastic; and
· Take steps to achieve an 80 percent recycling rate
for Coke bottles and cans.

Environmental leaders speaking in support of the
proposal included:  Pat Franklin of the
Container Recycling Institute; Bill Sheehan for the
GrassRoots Recycling Network; Bob Woodall of Waste
Not Georgia; and, Molly Rooke, a Dallas-based leader in
the local Sierra Club.

"Recycling rates dropped dramatically in recent years,
largely due to the proliferation of throwaway beverage
packaging.  Plastic bottles are the fastest growing type of
bottle and can waste.  Three out of four plastic soda,
juice, water and sports drink bottles go to landfills or
incinerators," said Pat Franklin, executive director of the
nonprofit Container Recycling Institute, based in
Arlington, Virginia.

 "The key to eliminating waste and increasing
recycling is creating an effective financial incentive,
which is why states with refundable deposits on
beverages average an 80 percent recycling rate," Franklin
said.

Sheehan presented a letter in support of the shareholder
resolution on recycling,
addressed to the PepsiCo Board of Directors, and signed
by 98 public officials, businesses, environmental
organizations, student and community leaders.

Bob Woodall,  executive director of Waste Not Georgia,
said after the vote:  "Litter is a
key issue for many people across Georgia and the nation.
States with deposit laws are much cleaner than states
without."

Molly Rooke, a leader in the Dallas area Sierra Club, told
PepsiCo leadership: "Stop messing with Texas.  Pepsi is
lagging behind the industry leader, Coca-Cola, and needs
to become a leader in recycling. Stop spending money
lobbying against bottle bills."

Institutional investors co-sponsoring the shareholder
recycling resolution called upon PepsiCo to stop
opposing bottle bills or come up with another method to
achieve the 80 percent recycling rate, which is the current
average in states with refundable deposits.

"The vote today assures shareholders that recycling will
stay on the agenda in discussions between investors and
top management at PepsiCo.  The resolution can be
brought back again next year," King said.

"Coca-Cola CEO Doug Daft announced on April 18 that
his company is working to use 10 percent recycled plastic
in making new bottles by 2005.  While it less than what
Coke does in other nations, it puts them far ahead of
Pepsi.  Daft also said Coke will work with a multi-
stakeholder group, called BEAR, exploring means to
increase recycling," Sheehan noted.

"Perhaps PepsiCo will join the multi-stakeholder group,
comprised of businesses and environmentalists seeking to
roughly double the national recycling rate," said Sheehan.

For more information on the Pepsi and Coke shareholder
campaigns visit us on the Internet at:
http://www.grrn.org/media.

###


*********************************
Bill Sheehan
Network Coordinator
GrassRoots Recycling Network
P.O. Box 49283
Athens, GA  30604-9283
Tel: 706-613-7121  Fax: -7123
Email:  zerowaste@grrn.org
Web:  http://www.grrn.org
*********************************