PespiCo has said that making LIFEWTR from recycled plastic reinforces its target to make all its packaging recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025

PepsiCo brand LIFEWTR (Credit YouTube, LIFEWTR)

PepsiCo brand LIFEWTR (Credit: YouTube, LIFEWTR)

PespiCo has announced its premium water brand LIFEWTR will be made from 100% recycled plastic.

The consumer beverage giant has also made a move towards aluminium cans for two of its other water products.

All of sparkling water brand bubly’s products will be sold with the recyclable metal, while Aquafina’s flavoured and non-flavoured water is trialling similar cans across US food service outlets.

The changes will come into effect next year and is expected to eliminate more than 8,000 metric tonnes of virgin plastic and about 11,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases.

PepsiCo’s chairman and chief executive Ramon Laguarta said: “As one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, we recognise the significant role PespiCo can play in helping to change the way society makes, uses and disposes of plastics.

“We are doing our part to address the issue head-on by reducing, recycling and reinventing our packaging to make it more sustainable, and we won’t stop until we live in a world where plastics are renewed and reused.”

 

Major companies should invest more in refill and reuse

PespiCo has said the move reinforces and advances the company’s goal to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025.

By the same year, the firm also aims to use 25% of recycled plastic content in all of its plastic packaging.

Stacey Taffet, PepsiCo’s water portfolio vice president, added: “We are really excited to evolve our packaging across PespiCo’s water portfolio to make a positive impact.

“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.

“At the same time, bubly, our sparkling water brand that is full of flavour and personality, has already shaken up the sparkling water category and will continue to do so with this bold move.”

PepsiCo recycled plastic
John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greepeace USA (Credit: Twitter, @JohnHocevar)

John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA’s oceans campaign director, welcomes the move but has said the focus of large companies like PepsiCo should be on reuse, not recycle.

He added: “While it’s good to see Pepsi working to eliminate some plastic packaging, it is not enough to simply substitute another throwaway material or rely on recycled plastic.

“To truly turn the tide on pollution, Pepsi and other consumer goods companies must invest much more in refill and reuse systems that fundamentally shift how products are brought to people.

“Pepsi should pay particular attention to addressing its plastics that are essentially non-recyclable, like chip [crisps] bags and other flexible multilayer packaging.”