Pepsi starts testing green vending machines

by Amy Judd | April 2, 2009 at 09:49 am

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Soft drink giant PepsiCo is starting to test their lastest environmental idea: green vending machines. These will hopefully reduce carbon footprints and electric bills.

In Washington DC, 30 machines have been set up for testing, and Pepsi hopes to release them worldwide in the next few years. They use only 5.08 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is down from the 6 kilowatt-hour of energy most machines use.

"That was the equivalent of burning five 100-watt bulbs constantly," Lewis said, referring to the 2003-era machines. "We're currently down to about two 100-watt bulbs. They're not using a lot of energy as it is."

They also emit 12 percent less greenhouse gas, and the drinks are kept cool by carbon dioxide and not hydrofluorocarbons, which are worse for the atmosphere.
The machines are being backed by Greenpeace, they are however, more expensive than the current equipment.
Coca-cola introduced HFC-free vending machines in the UK and also at the Beijing Olympics last year.