Posted on 03/15/2011 7:13:04 AM PDT by arderkrag
PURCHASE, N.Y. – Remember the Cola Wars? Get ready for the Bottle Wars.
PepsiCo Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a bottle made entirely of plant material, which it says bests the technology of competitor Coca-Cola and reduces its potential carbon footprint.
The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Ultimately, Pepsi plans to also use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other leftovers from its food business.
The new bottle looks, feels and protects the drink inside exactly the same as its current bottles, said Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of advanced research at PepsiCo. "It's indistinguishable."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
What are the total life-cycle production costs of this bottle v. a comparable plastic or glass one?
As Euell Gibbons used to say, “Many parts of the pine tree are edible.”
Not entirely sure - article says they’re going to do a test run on 100, 000 bottles. I imagine that’s one of the things they’ll be looking at.
Probably insignificant compared to Michelle's sugar junk food tax of a penny per ounce of soft drink.
None of that matters. What we're really concerned with is, does this make you feel better about yourself?
Unfortunately after two weeks it started to sprout roots while on the shelf.
Wondering the costs of the development of these “bottles”, the costs to produce them versus glass, and if they compost.
Can they be recycled as can be glass, or cans each in their own way, or do they compost, or do they deteriorate back into the environment in a timely manner?
What is the benefit other than to be different?
No I did NOT read beyond the excerpt.
Plastic never has and never will be as good as glass was in terms of product taste and enjoyment, although I’ve never been a pepsi fan.
I could care less about the “carbon footprint” but it’d be nice if it’s biodegradable. Doesn’t sound like it is though.
Ain’t that the truth. Any time I see a couple of glass bottled soda, I typically grab them. Coke has started carrying glass bottles and using cane sugar in their products around here - so much better.
This is being done to please the kenyan. I don’t drink soda and don’t side with a company that has the same emblem as the “Won”.
I would assume they can be used as compost or in an extreme case boiled into some sort of soup.
It looks like Pepsi has hired PR people from the software industry ("vaporware"). If they won't even BEGIN small scale testing until next year then this is a Marketing announcement, not an Engineering one. This will be a great product if it works. But this announcement reminds me of Moller and his flying cars.
How much coal and oil energy was burned to create and manufacture these bottles?
in the same story, food prices skyrocket.
Oh Goody!!! A new food source for vermin!!!
It looks like it will be a standard PET plastic bottle. The difference is that the hydrocarbon feed stock for production of the plastic will be bio-waste, not petroleum.
A good idea, if you can make it work. If so, anything made of PET could be made of this version.
It WILL generate gazillions of feel-good “Green” brownie points! (Is that a mixed metaphor or simply a mixed chromatism?)
I’m assuming these new garbage bottles will cost more. I’m not paying more so that Pepsi can feel good about itself and impress whackos who believe a myth. Stupid Pepsi.
My memory is of “bio-degradable” lawn waste bags aimed at eliminating the scourge plastic bags into which most suburban homeowners dumped grass clippings and leaves (I’m a composter myself).
Not only did the silly things degrade in less than a week’s time, making pick-up by the city nearly impossible; they also released some pretty nasty compounds as they broke down.
Wondering if these “green” bottles have a similar surprise in store.
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