PepsiCo Just Set An Ambitious Goal For Reducing Virgin Plastic Use
PepsiCo is a frontrunner in the food and beverage industry and owns multiple popular brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Doritos, Cheetos, and Mirinda, among others. Per the brand's website, the company's multipronged mission includes spreading joy to customers through "delicious and nourishing products and unique brand experiences." Of course, many of those experiences involve spreading plastic waste, which isn't exactly nourishing for the planet.
PepsiCo also wishes to safeguard the environment by making smarter choices. A description on its website says the megacompany intends to do this "by conserving nature's precious resources and fostering a more sustainable planet for our children and grandchildren." Well, PepsiCo recently explained one of the ways it plans to stand by its word. According to Green Biz, the company has announced the super ambitious target of slashing its use of virgin plastic in half and increasing recyclable plastic by 50%. In January, PepsiCo said that it aimed to lower direct emissions by 75% by the year 2030.
Pepsi has big plans for plastic
According to Green Biz, spoilage and convenience are two of the major issues many food companies face as they try to figure out the best way to pack and sell their products. Plastic works in many cases because can easily protect food items and ensure that they're safe to consume. However, plastic manufacturing is expected to increase drastically by 2050, taking a heavier toll on the environment.
In a major move, PepsiCo has partnered with other bigwigs such as L'Oreal and Nestle to fund a startup that can allow people to recycle plastic bottles so that manufacturers can use them again to store products. Also, PepsiCo is currently focused on shifting to 100% recycled PET packaging for some of its products in Europe by the year 2022. It'll strive for a similar goal in the U.S. and wants to use 100% recycled plastic for all Pepsi brand products by 2030. Meanwhile, one of the company's brands, Frito-Lay, is looking to help reduce plastic use by adopting compostable plant-based packaging for certain products.