Exhibit 99.1

            Alltrista Corporation amends stockholder rights plan

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Aug. 21, 2001 - Alltrista Corporation (NYSE: ALC),
today announced that it has amended its existing Stockholder Rights Plan to
increase from 10 percent to 15 percent the common stock ownership threshold
at which any person or group becomes an "acquiring person" and triggers
certain provisions under the Rights Plan. As revised, if a person or group
becomes the beneficial owner of 15 percent or more of the outstanding
shares of Alltrista common stock, subject to certain exceptions, holders of
rights (other than the acquiring person) would have the right to purchase
Alltrista common stock at a 50 percent discount.

Alltrista is a materials-based company. Its plastics group serves numerous
fields, including healthcare, consumer, appliance, motor vehicle and
industrial markets. Through its metals group, Alltrista is the leading
supplier of home food preservation products, under the Ball(R), Kerr(R) and
Bernardin(R) brands, and is the country's largest producer of zinc strip
and fabricated products, including coin blanks for the U.S. and foreign
mints. Please visit the company's Web site at www.alltrista.com for further
information.

Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements intended to
qualify for the Safe Harbor from liability established by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding
the outlook for Alltrista's markets and the demand for its products. These
projections and statements are based on management's estimates and
assumptions with respect to future events and financial performance and are
believed to be reasonable, though are inherently uncertain and difficult to
predict. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a
result of certain factors. A discussion of factors that could cause results
to vary are included in the Company's periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2000, and its Form 10-Q for the three months ended
July 1, 2001.

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Contact - Kristin Clauss at 317.577.5015 or kclauss@alltrista.com