That's exactly what has happened. Glass packaging major Owens-Illinois recently launched a global marketing campaign to extol the virtues of its packaging, taking a clear swipe at plastics in the process with its plan to highlight comments from packaging CEOs, environmentalists, consumers and more who will "share their love for glass and encourage brands to choose glass."

The timing, then, could not have been better for the news announced today jointly by the Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), that the U.S. recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans has reached its highest level in a decade, with 58.1% of all cans recycled last year-a rate that the groups claim is more than double that of any other beverage container. The math is close but accurate: According to the most recent (for 2009) recycling report from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), only 29% of available PET bottles were recycled in 2009. Maybe NAPCOR now wishes it had rounded up on the bit to the right of the decimlal point.

The results speak for themselves, but the execs from the associations put salt in plastics packaging's wounds without ever mentioning plastics. Steve Larkin, president, The Aluminum Association, commented, "We are pleased the recycling rate has increased from last year-this is a boost for our industry and further evidence that the aluminum beverage can is the best environmental and sustainability packaging option."

"There's a huge difference between what's recyclable and what's actually recycled," said CMI president Robert Budway. "Not only are cans infinitely recyclable back into new cans, they actually are being recycled at a rate nearly twice that of every other beverage package. This, coupled with the fact that aluminum cans have the highest recycled content and provide the longest shelf life of any beverage package, underscores why the can truly is the sustainable solution for twenty-first century packaging."

Still, as the bidding over Graham Packaging shows, there still are powerful market movers who have interest in plastics packaging, and the money to prove it.