Miller Brewing Co. is going to sell three of its best-selling beers - Miller Lite, Miller
Genuine Draft and Icehouse - nationally in 16-ounce and 20-ounce plastic bottles as well
as in the traditional glass bottles and aluminum cans.
The nation's second biggest brewer has been testing reaction to beer in plastic bottles over
the past 18 months in more than a dozen markets and arenas ranging from Miami's Orange
Bowl to the Oakland Coliseum.
While plastic is widely used for beverages like milk and soft drinks, Miller would be the
first U.S. brewer to use plastic bottles on such a large scale.
"Plastic bottles represent one of the biggest breakthroughs in the beer world in years and
have met with an overwhelmingly positive response," Miller's top marketing executive, Bob
Mikulay, said in a statement Thursday.
But others say many beer drinkers find the idea of beer in plastic as cheap. Beer industry
leader Anheuser-Busch Inc., had previously tested but rejected using plastic bottles.
And even as recycling activists applauded Miller for undertaking the program and
committing to use recycled plastic in making new bottles, they warned that it could cost
local governments more to collect and sort the beer bottles.
"They have a lot of challenges to overcome," said Marian Salzman, director of the Brand
Futures Group, who conducted a consumer survey on plastic bottles last year.
Scott Bussen, a spokesman for the Milwaukee-based brewer, conceded that there was
"natural skepticism" by beer drinkers to the idea of a plastic beer bottle but said Miller
found in the test markets that the wariness "tends to melt away" when they get a chance to
hold the bottle and taste the brew.
He said beer in plastic stays cold longer than in aluminum cans and as long as in glass
bottles, it weighs much less than glass and it is unbreakable.
In addition, he said the beer tastes the same. "Eighty-five percent of the people we asked
in a variety of markets said they would buy it again," he said.
Bussen said Miller doesn't expect that plastic will replace glass or aluminum containers, but
will enable Miller to sell beer in places like sports arenas, music halls or the beach where
glass or cans may not be permitted.
"We don't see this representing anytime in the near future more than 2 percent of our
volume," he said. "But we think it is a great niche opportunity for us to have the right
package for the right place at the right time."
The bottles are being produced for Miller by Continental PET Technologies, and will each
carry a label on the neck noting that it is a "new plastic bottle."
Bussen said plastic bottles are actually more expensive to make than glass in part because
they are thicker than a soda bottle but Miller hopes to reduce the costs as more are
produced.
Distributors set prices, but Miller expects beer in plastic will be competitive with beer sold
in similar-sized glass containers.
Two recycling groups applauded Miller.
"Turning old bottles into new bottles is a step forward, at a time when recycling rates are
steadily declining," said Pat Franklin, executive director of the Container Recycling Institute
of Washington, D.C.
But they said the plan to use amber for the Miller Lite and Icehouse containers would
boost recycling costs for some cities since they would have to be sorted and saved
separately from other clear or green containers. The Miller Genuine Draft bottle is clear.
"Many communities cannot afford to subsidize costs to sort amber-colored bottles," said
Rick Best, president of the Grass Roots Recycling Institute, based in Athens, Ga.
Bussen said Miller is aware of the concerns and hopes it can help jump-start the market for
recycled amber-colored plastic.
