Why is my Diet Pepsi so expensive all of the sudden?

[CornField]

Typically I can buy a case of my favorite vice - Diet Pepsi - for $4.99 plus can deposit. Today, when I ventured into the grocery store, a 12-pack was $4.09 plus deposit and a case was $7.49 plus deposit.

To heck with gasoline prices, this is HUGH!!1!!11 After all, how can I be expected to walk and bike everywhere without my brown fizzie to keep me going?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Prices have gone up on everything

It's changing daily at our local markets. Utterly unbelievable. I saw Honey Crisp apples, which are always pricey, for $3.29 a pound. That's like one apple.

Thanks, President Fuckface.

Got a Costco anywhere nearby?

[CornField]

6. Hell no.

I've sent numerous requests to Costco to consider store development in our area... not yet. Of course, there's a new Wal-Mart going in on the edge of town.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

15. If you can save $$$,

get it at Wal-Mart.

Sometimes you just gotta do stuff like that. You do. We all do.

[nankerphelge]

16. I'd rather spend the extra money.

[PowerToThePeople]

20. Yup, NEVER give a dime to wal-mart.

It is an evil, destructive company whos existence is starving those who think they are saving a little money, and the rest of us who chose not to.

[peacebaby3]

89. I've written them twice myself. We have many WalMart stores and Sam's Club

but ZERO Costco in my area.

I used to be addicted to Diet Pepsi and Tab (Yes, I loved it!) but gave them up and now drink basically water or unsweetened tea.

I do enjoy a Tab every few months if I can find one.

Good Luck in finding less expensive Diet Pepsi and getting a Costco. If you have any luck with Costco, let me know how you got them to your area.

[Tinksrival]

86. Milk!

Milk just hit $3.99. Thats four bucks a gallon in Chicagoland! :o

[thinkingwoman]

2. high gas prices

drive up shipping costs, which drive up wholesale prices, which drive up retail prices.

[KerryOn]

At the plant where I work prices for our purchased parts...

and equipment have gone up 20% to 30% in six months.

[thinkingwoman]

14. geesh that's a LOT

but I believe it. And it's happening all over. Prices are going to skyrocket this winter.

[Stephanie]

3. that stuff will kill you

I don't grasp the concept of drinking that stuff.

[CornField]

11. I'm quite sure that, no matter what I do,

something will eventually kill me.

[Stephanie]

17. But it tastes so bad!

And what's in it? Does anybody know?

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. acid

Pepsi-Cola products contain natural flavors, including extracts of the kola nut, vanilla beans and flavor oils derived from natural sources such as citrus and other fruits. Caramel (made from corn sugar) adds color and flavor to our colas. Other ingredients add a refreshing taste: phosphoric acid in colas; citric acid and sodium citrate in Mountain Dew, Slice and Diet Pepsi.

http://www.pepsi.com/help/faqs/faq.php?category=product_info&page=ingredients

[FlaGranny]

50. You forgot one flavor ingredient

that I think is the most important - caffeine. Caffeine gives the cola that "crisp, clean" flavor. Decaf just doesn't compare in flavor.

Anyway, finally, after years I finally gave up colas a few months ago. Now I'm addicted to Fruit2O, artificially sweetened with Splenda. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

[hfojvt]

58. not to mention carbonated water

CO2 + water = carbonic acid. CO2 + H2O = H2CO3

[KansDem]

71. I didn't see high-fructose corn syrup on that list

I thought Pepsi (and Coke) used high-fructose corny syrup, unless it was "sugar free" in which case it might have aspartame, sorbitol, or some other weird-sounding, sugar-free name...

[proud2BlibKansan]

90. It's diet pepsi

I would imagine there is no high fructose corn syrup (AKA SUGAR) in the diet sodas.

[Tommy_J]

19. I quit a couple months ago and ....

My chronic headaches vanished. I had much better quality sleep, and lost a pound - probably from less sodium. Not naggin or anything. Just sayin.

[radwriter0555]

28. but why pay a giant corporation to do it for you? It's just an addiction,

drink water instead.

And it doesn't actually taste good. You're just addicted to it. Like cigarettes.

Think of pepsi and coke as cigarettes in liquid form.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

33. The word "addiction"

has become cheapened and meaningless because people have confused it with someone's personal preference.

Enjoying Diet Pepsi and wanting to drink it hardly compares to real addiction.

And maybe the original poster doesn't want to drink water. Maybe he likes Diet Pepsi.

[radwriter0555]

34. actually people get addicted to the caffiene in the cola drinks... I've

known a number of them... it's no different than being addicted to coffee.

Drinking that much pepsi is an addiction... it's not a slam, just a point.

Being addicted to something that doesn't destroy your life or your family doesn't change the meaning of being addicted.

Addiction of any sort is a disease and should always be treated as such. Beating any addiction, whether to drugs or booze or to pepsi isn't heroic, it's just something we have to go through sometimes.

I halted my addiction to nicotine. I just recognized my problem and was successful in overcoming it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

39. Get acquainted with real addicts

See if you can get inside a jail or a treatment center, and you'll readily understand the difference between "addiction" and "habit."

An addiction destroys your life. A habit doesn't.

[radwriter0555]

48. My position stands. I've seen both. Both are problematic to varying

degrees.

I've known heroin (and drug and alcohol) addicts, recovering and practicing; I've been a nicotine addict and I've known cola / coffee drink addicts.

Some addictions can possibly kill you, absolutely. Oddly, more people die from conditions related to their nicotine addiction than from conditions related to a heroin addiction.

But I've known a heroin addict more in control of his life than a woman who was addicted to coffee and nicotine... He finally kicked the habit after long stints in rehab, but she's still addicted and a real mess about everything else in her life.

It's a cruel, cruel world.

Addiction should be treated like a disease and shouldn't be criminalized.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

56. And habits should not be

wrongly characterized and treated.

A woman who can't get along without coffee and cigarettes has, I would venture, far more serious problems than what she drinks and smokes. They're symptoms, not diseases.

Watch meth and crack addicts. See the infamous before and after photos, and then consider what happens to someone who drinks Diet Pepsi. Can you imagine someone checking into Betty Ford because he ran out of Diet Pepsi? Please.

Actually, I've found that it's a strikingly kind world filled with lovely and generous surprises and gifts. I think a lot of that is in how you approach the world.

[nonconformist]

60. Hey now.

Pepsi lover here - I don't do the diet, but I digress.

I fully admit to being addicted to caffeine in it's various forms - chocolate, coffee and my beloved Pepsi.

But taste is a personal preference, no? Caffeine is available in many ways.

[Marr]

30. As a fellow Diet Coke afficionado, I agree with you.

Life is deadly. Drink your Coke and smile.

[Horse with no Name]

37. Here Here

They are going to pry my Diet Dr. Pepper out of my cold dead hands...and yes, I know how bad it is for me, I know I am feeding the beast, and I know it could be one of the things that kill me.
But hey--I've made my informed decision to continue poisoning myself.:thumbsup:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

32. It's always entertaining

to watch people here on DU - people who embrace personal freedom of choice - turn into nags, each with his or her own "success" story, because someone enjoys a soft drink. Or a chunk of beef. Or an artificial sweetener. Or a cigarette.

I always get a laugh out of it, but I've never understood what turns these good people in Mother Superiors because someone enjoys something of which they do not approve or partake.

[Lugnut]

35. Thank you

:thumbsup: :toast:

[William Bloode]

40. Great point OLL.

You see a lot of folks who espouse freedom of this and freedom of that, but it boils down to freedom they approve of.

[crispini]

49. It's because people on DU are especially aware

that our personal choices have worldwide consequences.

An individual's choice to eat meat, writ large, becomes The American Diet. Complete with factory farming, disgusting and insanitary slaughterhouses, and mad cow. It takes 22 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of animal flesh. It's wasteful and an unsustainable lifestyle.

An indvidual's choice to drink soft drinks instead of water becomes a pocket sermon in wastefulness. It's all connected, you see. The story of the aluminum that must be dug out of the earth and trucked to the manufacturing facility and processed into cans (which are then often thrown away after their use.) The cane syrup produced half a world away, or the sweetners. The trees that go to produce the cardboard. The elaborate and expensive shipping and distribution system that brings the soda to your doorstep. The hydrocarbons you burn to purchase it at the store.

And all of it, all of it based on petroleum.

DU'ers preach at individuals because they see the connection of the individual's action to the greater good. Because they see that we as Americans are practicing an unsustainable lifestyle in these things: our meat, our sodas, our long commutes, our plastics everything.

And the more people we can persuade to voluntarily begin to adopt simple lifestyles, the easier it will be to make the adjustment as our entire society begins to adapt to the lack of petroleum.

I look at the future and I am afraid. Our interconnected, interdepedent world, so reliant on quick and easy transportation and cheap gas.

Those things are going away, and they are going away sooner rather than later.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

57. "... the more people we can persuade ......"

Ah, yes. The sound of the righteous and omniscient Mother (or Father) Superior.

You folks do know how others should - my favorite word, that one - live their lives.

It's exactly what the evangelicals try to tell us, and I think that's bullshit, too.

[crispini]

65. It's not a matter of moral superiority...

it's a matter of looking at the world and coming to terms with the fact that the American lifestyle as it's lived today is unsustainable.

Take the quiz at www.myfootprint.org.

If there existed a magical machine that created crates of diet Coke, cigarettes, and meat out of thin air -- I would have no problem whatsoever with people who chose to stuff themselves to the gills with animal products and processed food. Go them!

But the fact remains that we are all fellow travelers on this spaceship earth. Our actions have consquences for all of those around us.

If we don't start recognizing that of our own free will -- and soon -- we will have it violently forced down our throats by Mother Nature.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

67. Tell you what ----

You live as you wish to live, and I'll live as I wish to live.

Your belief that you have some superior knowledge as to what's coming next is comparable to the evangelicals who know exactly what's going to happen to all of us if we don't do as they say. Do you see how patronizing and insulting that is?

Live as you wish, do what you must, be happy and celebrate every day, and my family and I will continue to do just that. We have no plans to interfere with you, and, in fact, I am sure my husband and children and grandchild and in-laws would join me in wishing you all that is wonderful.

My free will is that you remind me far too much of the kind of people who want to curtail my liberties, and, if you're not comfortable with that, then I would urge you to preach to your choir, but never to people who don't happen to live in ways that you would approve of.

[crispini]

68. But why would I want to preach to the choir?

They already get my message. :) Isn't rational dialog much more interesting?

The fundies base their beliefs on what will happen in the future on the divine revelations of their God. That's nice, but it's not science.

I base my conjectures about what will happen in the future on books I have read which contain scientific research.

If this science is proven wrong, as I keep informed of things, I'll be happy to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. I wouldn't mind going back to eating meat. I try to be a rationalist, always willing to entertain the opposite point of view, and engage in dialog.

Let's just take one point, the vegetarian lifestyle. After I read the books "Diet for a Small Planet," and "Diet for a New America," I realized that eating lower on the food chain takes less energy, less water, and less resources (especially petroleum.) Or, aside from the vegetarian issue, how about "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Envrironmental Choices" -- that one is great, it's a practical guide to how the work and life choices we make affect the planet.

I have no interested in using laws in order to prohibit you from eating meat (or driving your Hummer, or shop at Wal-Mart, or use pesticides on your lawn, etcetera.) I don't hate or look down on people who do this (as you seem to think I do). But I have plenty of interest in engaging in a dialog with everyone about these choices and how we can make better ones. Simply posing the question to them, "If everyone on the planet lived as you do, what would the consequences be?" Most people, if they are honest with themselves, become pretty uncomfortable with their current lifestyles as they think about that.

Take a look at the footprint quiz at www.myfootprint.org. They've got a pretty clear answer to that question.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

73. Interesting link.

Thanks for the global footprint info!

[crispini]

80. You're welcome!

:hi:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

75. Your basic premise leaves me behind

You're operating out of one basic premise with which I do not agree, and that is that you believe in the future.

I believe in the now.

So, you have your way, and I have mine, and, you know, your preaching is of no interest to me.

I just spent $300 at Omaha Steaks. They're having a big sale today.

Life is good.

[crispini]

79. Wow. That's a new one.

I don't quite fathom it, actually. So you don't believe there will be a future? Or is it that you don't believe in linear time?

BTW why does it have to be "preaching" -- why can't it just be "having a conversation about life?" That's the funnest kind....

[OldLeftieLawyer]

81. We're not having a conversation

I wished you well, and told you that I respected your beliefs, but they had no place in our lives, and that was that.

And you kept coming back with that same old stuff that I've been hearing for more than forty years.

You're doing a monologue.

You clearly don't respect my beliefs, and that, in case you hadn't noticed, is why I do not regard you as conversational, but, rather, as dogmatic, narcissistic, inflexible, and lacking grace.

Again, I wish you well, and bid you farewell.

[crispini]

83. Sorry.

I thought we were having a kind of interesting conversation. Silly me.

[kestrel91316]

84. We seem to have a plethora of closeted Ayn Rand afficionados here

who believe fervently in THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS.

Sigh. :shrug:

[0007]

22. I'll second that!

I'll take a nice cool glass of water anyday, anytime, anywhere, from anyone.

[Deja Q]

62. Do you have the secret of life and immortality?

If so, let us know!

We're all going to snuff it one day. Some of us sooner than others.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Not FEARED.

Our plastic fantastic "society" wants us to fear all the frigging time and I'm frigging tired of it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

76. Same as the evangelicals

Tell us their tales of gloom and doom and how we MUST DO AS THEY SAY, and expect us to follow.

Ah, DU, where freedom of choice is, sadly, an abstract concept.

[thebigidea]

88. I just like the freedom not to choose sugarwater

Nobody is trying to take away your Pepsi and steak. Some just have the silly idea that its bad for you and feel this bizarre concern for their fellow humans and so they express their concern in occasionally hysterical and/or corny ways.

But they aren't banding together to ban Pepsi or systematically taking over the government to invade countries based on religious scripture concerning dairy products. The two groups are apples and orangutans.

"Freedom of choice is what you got, freedom from choice is what you want."
- Devo

[OldLeftieLawyer]

91. "... bizarre concern for their fellow humans ... "

I'm touched.

No, really, I am. Your assumption that I eat steak or drink Pepsi is touching and presumptuous. Your wrong-headed reading that someone is "trying to take" them away from me is testimony to your fervid huffing and puffing.

Since I have absolutely no interest in what you eat or drink, I'm amused that you're so taken with my intake.

I'd say that's right up there with the good preachers like the Robertsons and Falwells and Dobsons who don't approve of my choices, either.

You're all a bunch of harpies who can't believe that someone would enjoy doing something besides what you embrace.

Drink water, suck down vegetarianism, eschew diamonds and leather, drive a rickshaw, but, you know, you'll die anyway.

You'll just die wishing you'd had a big juicy cheeseburger to go with that fabulous Pepsi on ice and a sweet-tasting smoke afterwards.

And you'll probably regret all the preaching you tried to do to absolute strangers, who chewed you up like a cheap cut of veal, and spat you out.

[NMDemDist2]

4. it's BECAUSE of the high gas prices that the soda ( and everything else)

is so expensive. Expect to see spot shortages too this winter. Suppliers don't want to send a truck until it's got a totally full load so the most popular products will sell out before the next shipment arrives.

get used to it.

[Wilms]

5. I think aluminum production is energy intensive.

Perhaps that part of it, too.

[PowerToThePeople]

7. The beginning stages of...

hyperinflation?

[unrepuke]

8. Oh, well . . . the Aspartame is no good for us anyway.

[MichiganVote]

9. Fuel, shipping, sugar. Not to mention the high costs of CEO's

[lovuian]

10. Thats Ridiculous you need to contact Pepsi and find out

why such a huge rise!!!

[elfin]

12. They know you like it

and have you in their ptofit margin sights - it's all about you. Give up now.

[CornField]

24. Finally someone speaks the truth!

It is all about me. Damn... I've been telling the family that for years. ;)

At the risk of further embarrassment, I probably have my own revenue line item at Pepsico.

[spindrifter]

13. Transportation--

the entire transportation sector of the economy is screwed up. After Katrina a lot of the semis were re-directed from their usual travel patterns to get supplies to the southeast. We started noticing it and the local Costco said they weren't getting stuff they usually carry due to lack of available transport. Then there is the rise in gas prices. Then there is the incremental increase in transporting and producing every ingredient or part of all the stuff you are buying.
We are going to be screwed big time this winter.

[finecraft]

18. I can't find Diet Sunkist here

Every kind of soda here is in short supply. The guy that stocks the sodas at the grocery store told me that there is a shortage because of the hurricanes. As distributors, they used to get 300-400 cases a week, but since Katrina and Rita, they are lucky if they get 75.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

41. You fogot one

Are you sure you don't have a Calico cat for Ashcroft! :rofl:

Melonhawg

[demgurl]

21. This past week I warned my friends to brace themselves.

I went into one grocery store and they were marking up everything it seemed. I buy cases of water and that, alone, was going up from $6.99 to $10.99!!! I could not believe some of the prices they were marking their items. It is going to hit and hit hard.

demgurl

[Jamastiene]

23. My Dr Pepper in 2 liter form

has gone from $1.29 to $1.59. I can remember when a 3 liter was 1.59 and a 2 liter was $.99. I feel so cheated.

[Massacure]

25. Drink water.

Its better for you.

[AntiCoup2K4]

36. And when everyone starts drinking water....

They'll triple the price of Brita filters.

(The bottled waters no doubt went up with the pop prices)

[nonconformist]

61. One can drink a variety of different beverages, yanno.

I drink a lot of water, I mean a LOT.

I also partake in a daily Pepsi or two... and occasionally coffee, juice, milk and various other beverages.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

26. Are You Guys Sure You're Not Overreacting?

I realize things are going to get worse, and prices will go up on things, but isn't this perhaps a little paranoia here? Prices fluctuate, don't they? I mean, sometimes I can go to the store and a certain cereal is $1.50, the next week it's $4.00. Just depends if they're running a sale or not.

Same with ice cream or soda. Sometimes I'll see a 1/2 gallon Dreyers on sale for $3, the next week it will be back to $5+.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine there is suddenly a spike related to gas prices, especially when it's taken so long for the impact to be passed along to the consumer. I expect it's going to be more gradual than that, so you'll notice it slowly rising over the next few months.

[William Bloode]

42. Oh believe it!

I went shopping last week. Now i only go once a month since i am on a fixed income, and use food stamps(thats right i'm ghetto poor). I noticed things like the crackers i normally buy. They have been .99 for the longest, now they are $1.29. I noticed many items were 20-30% more expensive than they were a month ago.

So much increase in prices i had to modify my shopping to suit the prices. I paid more and got less.

[CornField]

45. Yes, I've found the same thing

We're a family of five and really trying to put some money back for a rainy day. I've found that if I plan out our weekly menus, I'm much less apt to impulse buy or bring home items we don't need.

I bought the same darn things & brands I've been buying... my typical grocery bill of $150 sprung up to $190. I sat down with the receipt and went over each item... the vast majority were up about 15-20%, but some (like my beloved Diet Pepsi) had skyrocketed.

[SammyWinstonJack]

43. Paranoia and overreacting on DU?

:rofl: :yoiks:

[NNadir]

27. A little known fact: Diet Pepsi...

is gasoline.

[Sydnie]

29. It's cokes turn to be on sale

They are never on sale at the same time. Pepsi cornered the market for the past two months with sales of, say, 12 packs for a 2 for 5 deal. Now coke is on sale like that all over the country.

Part of my job is to track these sales trends so I see the pattern often.

Solution: buy all you can - to the store's limit, everyday that it is on sale. It will hold you over until the next cycle.

It should come down again just before Thanksgiving.

From one pesi-holic to another ... I feel your pain.

[madrchsod]

31. most dollar stores sell pepsi or coke

2lt for a dollar. it`s always on sale somewhere

[Horse with no Name]

38. My problem is that I only like my aspartame laced drink in an aluminum can

I figure I need to assure myself that I am exposed to as many toxins as I possibly can while indulging in my sinful delights.:evilgrin:

[FlaGranny]

51. The taste of the plastic

definitely gets into the soda.

[Indy Lurker]

70. don't look now, but the cans are lined with plastic.

Soft drinks are too high in acid to put in an unlined aluminum can, you'd pick up a very metallic taste.

[FlaGranny]

78. Hmmm. Same kind of plastic?

Because they sure used to taste different to me - I don't drink Coke or Pepsi much any more.

[tlsmith1963]

46. I Noticed Yesterday

That Coca-Cola went up, too. I immediately thought "gas prices". They have to ship it to stores, & they have to use gas of course. So higher gas prices=higher costs for items at stores. Thanks a lot, Bush.:sarcasm:

Tammy

[lonestarnot]

47. Why is EVERY FUCKING THING more expensive?

[MzShellG]

52. One word...INFLATION!....this is getting series!!!111

[Maclilly]

53. I sell soda for a business (vending)

Coke and Pepsi flood the market in the summer and the price always goes up after Labor Day. Increase in gas prices and the cost of Cans particularly have gone up and we are paying more. We just raised the prices two weeks ago to help cover the increase in gas on us.

[pitohui]

54. diet pepsi does not provide any fuel

you might want to check that can of diet pepsi again, it is calorie free so it was never providing any fuel to keep you going while walking or riding

it was a pure placebo

leave it behind as the waste of money it is

drink water

[Dark]

55. You're forgetting about the caffiene.

It's a stimulant, remember?

[Opusnone]

59. Maybe they're building a war chest

For all the future Aspartame litigation...

[TiredOfLies]

63. The Dangers of Aspartame

I was hitting a few cans of diet pepsie a day until my arms and legs started itching every night after a shower and i went to bed, I dug so hard that i would draw blood. The dr.said to change soap which i did about 4 times.. One night i was listing to a late night radio talk show and he was talking about diet sodas and the effects it had on people, one of the side effects was itching, i stopped drinking diet soda and sropped itching in 2 days..
ASPARTAME is especially deadly for diabetics. All physicians know what wood alcohol will do to a diabetic. We find that physicians believe that they have patients with retinopathy, when in fact, it is caused by the ASPARTAME. The ASPARTAME keeps the blood sugar level out of control, causing many patients to go into a coma. Unfortunately, many have died. People were telling us at the Conference of the American College of Physicians, that they had relatives that switched from saccharin to an ASPARTAME product and how that relative had eventually gone into a coma. Their physicians could not get the blood sugar levels under control. Thus, the patients suffered acute memory loss and eventually coma and death. Memory loss is due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic without the other amino acids found in protein. Thus it goes past the blood brain barrier and deteriorates the neurons of the brain.


http://www.laleva.cc/food/dietcoke-pepsie.html

[Lethe]

some Diet Pepsi is made with Splenda now...which is made with CHLORINE!

thats right, Splenda is made from sugar so it tastes like sugar.....only they ADD CHLORINE TO SUGAR TO MAKE SPLENDA.

thats right you are drinking some man-made, poisonous, chlorinated concoction that nobody knows what the hell will do to your body 10-20 years down the line. enjoy

[Greyhound]

64. Among the other reasons listed previously, the price of aluminum

has increased significantly because China is buying it (and steel, concrete, etc.) with all those dollars they are taking out of our economy.
I am so depressed.

[Tracer]

66. Coke in a 2 liter bottle at my grocery ...

is $1.59 one week, and the next week it is .88.

On the weeks that Coke is $1.59 - across the aisle, Pepsi is .88. So I buy that.

So, I never pay more than .88.

To me they taste the same.

[omega minimo]

69. Why do you drink Diet Pepsi? -----eom

:puke:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

72. Halliburton bought Pepsi. nt.

[ComerPerro]

74. "Just be glad your car runs on gas instead of Diet Pepsi"

To paraphrase one of those lame-ass, Corporate-apologist emails that always make the rounds.

[Nickster]

87. I'm taking a Marketing class right now and the instructor said something

very similar on a few occasions.

[jbm]

77. I'm an independent vendor..

and Coke and Pepsi both raised their case prices several months ago. Apparently they did a special buys thing or had some sort of soda war going on at the grocery stores, because case prices at the stores were significantly less than I was paying. As soon as the holiday seasons hit, the soda companies will start competing for sales again and the case prices will drop a little. We'll just have to learn to hoard!

[electricmonk]

82. Consumers may thirst for lower soda prices

Dwindling supplies of the PET resin used for plastic drink bottles are causing prices to bubble up.

Soda pop. Eyes pop. Eyes popping about soda pop prices.

Homeowners fretting about affording heat in the months ahead might as well accept that they'll probably also pay more for beverages, including water, consumed from plastic bottles.

Blame the hurricanes. It seems that the Gulf Coast, wouldn't you know it, is home to the major suppliers of raw materials needed for the specialized plastic -- PET bottle resin -- used by beverage bottlers.

PET stands for "polyethylene terephthalate" and refineries affected by the hurricanes provide key components for that formula. Without new stocks of PET resin, prices have spiked for existing supplies.

Manufacturers like using PET plastic for packaging because of its strength, transparency and "thermo-stability," according to the National Association for PET Container Resources.
-snip-
--------
http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/wb/xp-35372

Article will probably disappear in a day or 2.

I work at a plastics molding factory and we recently bought thousands and thousands more pounds of raw plastic than we normally do because of the major price increases.

[stlsaxman]

85. Because Diet Pepsi is a pure petroleum product!

Everything with crude is going up these days.