Miller Brewing Co. says it's no contest — they taste the same. But the prospect seems ripe for debate from the retired sports stars who in television ads endlessly debated whether Lite was less filling or tasted great in the brand's heyday a decade ago.

The nation's second-biggest brewer will soon start selling its flagship Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Icehouse nationally in 16-ounce and 20-ounce plastic bottles as well as in the traditional glass bottles and aluminum cans.

Milwaukee-based Miller has been testing reaction to beer in plastic bottles over the past 18 months in more than a dozen markets and arenas ranging from Miami's Orange Bowl to the Oakland Coliseum.

While plastic is widely used for beverages like milk and soft drinks, Miller would be the first U.S. brewer to use plastic bottles on such a large scale.

"Plastic bottles represent one of the biggest breakthroughs in the beer world in years and have met with an overwhelmingly positive response," Miller's top marketing executive, Bob Mikulay, said in a statement Thursday.

But others say many beer drinkers recoil at the idea of beer in plastic. Beer industry leader Anheuser-Busch Inc., tested but rejected using plastic bottles last year.

And even as recycling activists applauded Miller for undertaking the program and committing to use recycled plastic in making new bottles, they warned that it could cost local governments more to collect and sort the beer bottles.

Scott Bussen, a spokesman for the Miller, conceded that there was "natural skepticism" by beer drinkers to the idea of a plastic beer bottle but said Miller found in the test markets that the wariness "tends to melt away" when they get a chance to hold the bottle and taste the brew.

He said beer in plastic stays cold longer than in aluminum cans and as long as in glass bottles, it weighs much less than glass and it is unbreakable.

In addition, he said the beer tastes the same. "Eighty-five percent of the people we asked in a variety of markets said they would buy it again," he said.

Bussen said Miller doesn't expect that plastic will replace glass or aluminum containers, but will enable Miller to sell beer in places like sports arenas, music halls or the beach where glass or cans may not be permitted.

"We don't see this representing anytime in the near future more than 2 percent of our volume," he said. "But we think it is a great niche opportunity for us to have the right package for the right place at the right time."

The bottles are being produced for Miller by Continental PET Technologies, and will each carry a label on the neck noting that it is a "new plastic bottle."

Marian Salzman, director of the Brand Futures Group, conducted a consumer survey on plastic bottles last year.

Salzman surveyed 2,380 people in 26 countries by e-mail last October and found while many people thought plastic beer bottles were a sensational idea, others were "horrified of drinking beer from plastic bottles."

She said those surveyed usually associated quality with glass, and mass production with plastic. "They thought plastic bottles were cheesier," she said.

Bussen said the plastic bottles Miller will be using are actually more expensive to make than glass but the brewer hopes to reduce the costs as more are produced. He expects prices for beer in plastic will be competitive with beer sold in similar-sized glass containers.

Recycling activists applauded Miller, especially for its commitment to help buy back used bottles.

"Turning old bottles into new bottles is a step forward, at a time when recycling rates are steadily declining," said Pat Franklin, executive director of the Container Recycling Institute of Washington, D.C.

But they said the plan to use amber for the Miller Lite and Icehouse containers would boost recycling costs for some cities since they would have to be sorted and saved separately from other clear or green containers. The Miller Genuine Draft bottle is clear.

Bussen said Miller is aware of the concerns and hopes it can help jump-start the market for recycled amber-colored plastic.