<div id="subtitle">PepsiCo unveils lighter bottle for Aquafina, accelerates effort to be eco-friendly</div><div><p>PepsiCo Inc. said Wednesday it would begin selling Aquafina in a lighter bottle, accelerating efforts by bottled water sellers to be more eco-friendly.</p><p>The Purchase, N.Y. company said it will save 75 million pounds of plastic a year with its Eco-Fina bottle, which weighs 10.9 grams and uses 20 percent less plastic than its current bottle. The company said it is the lightest half-liter bottle of any bottled water sold in the U.S.</p><p>Consumers have cut back on bottled water purchases, in part because of environmental concerns about the waste created by disposable bottles and the energy used to transport them. Bottled water sales fell 0.4 percent in 2008, according to Beverage Digest, a trade publication.</p><p>PepsiCo, the world's second-biggest drinks maker, is among the leading sellers of bottled water. Coca-Cola Co. sells bottled water under the Dasani brand, and Nestle Waters North America, which sells Poland Spring, Deer Park and others.</p><p>Nestle Waters North America has been engineering lighter bottles for years, and had a 12.5-gram Eco-Shape half-liter bottle as of May 2008. It is contoured to keep its shape with less plastic.</p><p>PepsiCo said its new bottle is the lightest on the market. A call to Nestle Waters was not immediately returned.</p><p>Bottled water sales have been hurt as consumers grew more concerned about waste created by the product. Mayors of 250 U.S. cities voted in June 2008 to stop using taxpayer money to buy bottled water, and prominent restaurateurs — including Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters — have stopped using it altogether.</p><p>PepsiCo and Coke have faced other issues, such as their disclosure of the source of the water they sell. PepsiCo made headlines in July 2007 when it said it would spell out that water in Aquafina bottles comes from the same place as tap water. Aquafina water is taken from public sources then purified in a seven-step process.</p><p>The introduction of a lighter bottle is part of PepsiCo's effort to make its business more energy-efficient. It has set a goal of using 25 percent less fuel and 20 percent less water and energy by 2015. It will begin making Aquafina bottles at its water purification centers, which eliminates transportation costs, and will get rid of extra cardboard from its 24-packs.</p><p>PepsiCo also sells Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Tropicana, as well as Frito-Lay snacks and Quaker oatmeal. In beverages, its bigger rival is Coke.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=45789461&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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