U.S. Packaging Mix

Prepared by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, D.C.

Carbonated Soft Drinks

Packaging Mix for Carbonated Soft Drinks in the U.S. Market
Percent of Volume Sold
CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGES 1963 1970 1980 1990 2000
Refillable glass bottles 89 40 29 1 1
One-way glass bottles 3 27 16 11 0
Metal cans 8 33 38 54 48
PET bottles 0 0 17 34 51
1963 and 1970 figures from [1, p. 20]; 1980 figures from [2]; 1990 and 2000 figures from [3]
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Beer

Packaging Mix for Beer in the U.S. Market
Percent of Volume Sold
CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGES 1960 1970 1980 1990 1998
Refillable glass bottles 53 24 21 7 3
One-way glass bottles 10 22 29 24 40
Metal cans 37 54 50 69 57
1960, 1970, and 1990 figures from [4, p. 40]; 1980 figures from [2]; 1998 figures from [5]

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Endnotes

For more information about some of these sources, go to the annotated bibliography (B) or to the links (L).
  1. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Beverage Containers: Reuse or Recycling. Paris: OECD, 1978. (B)
  2. "1980 Beverage Packaging Mix." Beverage World June 1981: 44. (B)
  3. "CSD Packaging 2000." Beverage World June 2001: 37. (B)
  4. Saphire, David. Case Reopened: Reassessing Refillable Bottles. New York: INFORM, Inc., 1994. (B)
  5. ILSR's calculations based on Beer Institute estimates.
This page was last updated on January 31, 2002.

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