As found on the Aquafina's website, the name changed to Eco-fina after they released the new bottle that saved 35% plastic. While that number may not seem large, it really is.On Aquafina's website, it said that 75 millions pounds of plastic will be saved yearly. I found an interesting fact on Wikipedia, "As of 2009, Aquafina represented 13.4 percent of domestic bottled water sales in the United States, making it the number 1 bottled water brand as measured by retail sales." So 35% of the number one water brand is pretty good if you ask me.
By using a lighter plastic, it benefits the environment. When the cases of water are being shipped, the load is lighter. The lighter the load, the less gas is used. Everyone knows how expensive gas is and how it effects the environment as we continue to drill the ground for more. According it the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "In 2006, about 331 million barrels of liquid petroleum gases (LPG) and natural gas liquids (NGL) were used to make plastic products in the plastic materials and resins industry in the United States, equal to about 4.6% of total U.S. petroleum consumption. Of the total, 329 million barrels were used as feedstock and 2 million barrels were consumed as fuel." The new Eco-fina water bottles are helping cut down on the use of petroleum when they are being manufactured.
Not only has Eco-fina improved the water bottle to become more environmental friendly, it also has changed the way that the bottles are packaged in cases. They eliminated the use of a cardboard base. Not using this base will save up to 20 million pounds in eight years according to PepsiCo.
Aquafina really has it together in the aspect of going green. I commend them for helping to save our environment. I know that not all water companies are taking this measure. Below is a photograph of the new Eco-fina bottle taken by the author.
http://www.pepsico.com/PressRelease/PEPSICOS-AQUAFINA-LAUNCHES-THE-ECO-FINA-BOTTLE-THE-LIGHTEST-WEIGHT-BOTTLE-IN-THE03252009.html
http://www.aquafina.com/
http://www.girlsgonegreenaction.com/tips/207-new-aquafina-bottles-reduce-plastic-use-by-50-percent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquafina
http://205.254.135.7/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=34&t=6
Dear Marleigh,
ReplyDeleteI want to start off saying that I enjoyed reading your blog. I'm glad you chose this topic, becuase I am also an Aquafina fan. It's really a good thing to know that they are doing all they can to help preserve the environment.
The statement about how Aquafina changed their name and saved 35% plastic stood out to me. It stood out to me, because it really goes to show that Aquafina is doing all they can within their corporation to help the environment.
I like the part about how using lighter plastic saves gas. I am all about saving gas, so this is my favorite part about the blog. Petroleum is one of the biggest problems in today's society,so it's good to know someone out there is doing their part.
Your blog is really effective, and I enjoyed reading it. I will be coming back to read more of your blogs.
To Marleigh,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your article, and how you connected to the topic. It's great to see that Aquafina is starting to be more eco-friendly by using less plastic to package their water, and I hope that other companies follow in their example.
I never thought about how reducing the amount of plastic used to make a bottle can ease shipping weight, and how much gas it takes to ship. I guess because I don't consider a plastic bottle to be heavy. But, when you have thousands, maybe even millions, of bottles on a single truck, then it gets heavy. So it's just another positive for using less plastic.
Also, it's nice to see Aquafina has stopped packaging their bottles in cardboard, as that saves a lot of trees. But if they've stopped using cardboard, then what do they ship them in?
Aquafina has a nice start, but they can still do so much more to help the environment.
Marleigh,
ReplyDeleteI liked this post because it was really informative. It seems that you really indulged into whatever source you had which made this post seem really helpful. I would have never thought of so many ways that reducing the weight of a water bottle would effect the environment. I would like to say that I drink Aquafina but I do not because I just refill a one liter bottle, not only because it helps cut down on my environmental footprint but, it also is cheaper for me as well considering that I am a college student scraping loose change off the ground for financial support. This was very informative.
Dakota Rodgers