PepsiCo Inc. announced that LIFEWTR will be packaged in 100 percent rPET bottles and its bubly sparkling waters no longer will be packaged in plastic. The company’s AQUAFINA water brand also will offer aluminum can packaging in U.S. foodservice outlets, while the brand tests the packaging move in retail. The changes, which all go into effect next year, are expected to eliminate more than 8,000 metric tons of virgin plastic and approximately 11,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, representing the latest steps in the company’s sustainability journey and pursuit of a circular economy for plastics, it says. They reinforce and advance PepsiCo’s goals to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable and use 25 percent recycled plastic content in all its plastic packaging by 2025. “Tackling plastic waste is one of my top priorities and I take this challenge personally,” said PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta in a statement. “As one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, we recognize the significant role PepsiCo can play in helping to change the way society makes, uses and disposes of plastics. We are doing our part to address the issue head on by reducing, recycling and reinventing our packaging to make it more sustainable, and we won’t stop until we live in a world where plastics are renewed and reused.” Since 2009, Naked Juice has been working to ensure its bottles are made of 100 percent rPET and can be turned into bottles again and again, the company says. By making its bottles with rPET, the brand also uses about 25 percent less energy than if it used virgin plastic, it adds.