Sam's Club, Aquafina and Keep America Beautiful Turn Plastic into Something Fantastic

Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release

provided by

11.25.2008 - 10:15am ET

Sam's Club, Aquafina and Keep America Beautiful Turn Plastic into Something Fantastic

Communities Recycle 189 Million Plastic Bottles during Great American Cleanup; “Return the Warmth” Program Distributes 25,000 Fleece Jackets Made from Recycled Plastic Bottle Material to Children at Top Performing Schools

(CSRwire) STAMFORD, Conn. - November 25, 2008 - In support of Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup(TM), the nation's largest annual community improvement program, Sam's Club(R) teamed up with Aquafina to encourage recycling with the "Return the Warmth" program. "Return the Warmth" challenged local communities and schools to recycle 80 million plastic (PET) bottles during the 2008 Great American Cleanup, which took place nationwide from March 1 through May 31. The actual results, 189 million recycled bottles, far exceeded that goal.

A total of 25,000 fleece jackets made from recycled plastic bottle material have been distributed to the 100 schools that collected the most bottles. In addition, the top 50 schools received a $1,000 Sam's Club Gift Card.

This was the third year that Sam's Club and Aquafina partnered with Keep America Beautiful on this program. In 2007, the program recycled 70.6 million bottles.

"Return the Warmth has been a testament to Sam's Club and Aquafina's creativity in putting Keep America Beautiful's message of 'closing the loop' to work, and teaching it to school children across the country," said Keep America Beautiful President & CEO Matthew McKenna. "Nearly doubling our goal in collecting 189 million PET bottles through our Great American Cleanup participating organizations has been simply astounding."

"Keep America Beautiful and Sam's Club are ideal partners who share our desire to make a positive and lasting impact on the community," said Mario Palomino, Director of Sales, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, makers of Aquafina. "The Return the Warmth program, in partnership with Sam's Club and Keep America Beautiful, presented a perfect opportunity to educate our children on the need to recycle and instill positive recycling habits at an early age.In addition, this program reinforces our corporate and social responsibility to conserve, reuse and recycle energy and natural resources to protect our world. We hope this initiative helps to encourage families to take a more active role in the preservation of their environment and contribute to their communities."

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. The Great American Cleanup is the organization's signature program that mobilizes millions of volunteers to improve their communities through hands-on participation. For more information, visit www.kab.org.

About Sam's Club(R)
Sam's Club(R) (samsclub.com), a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is the nation's largest warehouse chain in the United States serving small business owners and operators. The purchasing agent of choice, Sam's Club provides every-day low cost and affordable luxury goods to more than 47 million entrepreneurs and consumers nationwide.

About Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages
Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages (www.pepsi.com) is the refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo, Inc., in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Aquafina, Sierra Mist, IZZE, SoBe, Mug, Tava, Tropicana Twister Soda, Tropicana Juice Drinks, Dole and Ocean Spray single-serve juices. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks. For more information, visit www.pepsiproductfacts.com