Environmental Leader

Recycling facts and messages provided by the National Recycling Coalition will be featured on 500 million Pepsi cans and 250 million Diet Pepsi cans nationwide. That’s 7.5 billion cans by the end of the year.

Pepsi Co.’s “Have We Met Before?” campaign is designed to communicate the benefits of aluminum can recycling and encourage Pepsi consumers to make recycling a part of their daily routines.

“Our research tells us that most people recycle, when they remember,” said Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition.

At least 40 percent of the average aluminum can is made from recycled material, according to NRC.

Research has shown that people are more inclined to recycle when they learn about the benefits of recycling, particularly the energy savings. Consumers have said that the information helps them understand the importance of recycling and provides them with an added incentive to do their part because they feel it’s the right thing to do for the environment.

The messages, which began appearing on Pepsi cans in February and will begin appearing on Diet Pepsi cans in May, include:

• Recycling could save 95% of the energy used to make this can.
• On average, aluminum cans produced in the United States contain 40-50% recycled content.
• The average person has the opportunity to recycle 25,000 cans in a lifetime.
• Recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
• Recycle this can and save enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.

This isn’t the first time Pepsi has put environmental messages on its packaging. PepsiCo India is changing all of the labels on Aquafina, its bottled water brand, to announce that by next year, PepsiCo India will be a positive water balance company.