Aluminum Emerging as Sustainable Substitute for Plastic Bottles

The drive to turn products more eco-friendly is sweeping through the U.S. beverage market, with plastic being replaced in everything from red Solo cups to Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. water bottles.

In place of the petrochemical material, aluminum is emerging as a more sustainable option to cater to environmentally conscious consumers. That shift is threatening to dislodge the entrenched position of plastics in the American drinks industry, while helping boost shares of companies such as Ball Corp., the biggest aluminum can producer in the world.

Most of the plastic the world has made so far has been discarded ...