5 ms·

The decision to use glass as the de-facto re-usable container medium has always driven me nuts. I think the "marketing" is that it's slightly "harder" (mentally

The decision to use glass as the de-facto re-usable container medium has always driven me nuts. I think the "marketing" is that it's slightly "harder" (mentally) to throw away a nice glass bottle than it is a plastic container because we've been so conditioned to throw out the plastic ones. I've long wondered why retailers don't offer a "refill" option for items like milk and liquid cleaning products. The bottles for laundry detergent in particular are usually thick plastic that rightfully could serve their purpose for a very long time. The store could have a big tank of the stuff and consumers can bring the re-usable bottle in for a refill at a worthwhile discount. Similar to what some retailers do with water and those re-fillable 5-gallon jugs. Perhaps the economics don't favor this for other products, but it seems like banning plastic in favor of heavier and less-re-usable options is just political hype without real examination, as you point out.

Slippery_John 8y ago
Some detergent makers actually do sell refill bags that use far less plastic. There's also been a resurgence of milkmen in London and some other places, where you leave out your empty bottles and get a refill. While there aren't milkpeople where I live, there are a few places where I can pay a deposit on a glass bottle and then exchange it for a full bottle whenever I need. It's not widespread by any means, but it is happening.
- ryanianian 8y ago
  The re-usable detergent bags are nice, and many countries do distribute milk in thin plastic bags that you then empty into a pitcher at home. But as parent points out, exchanging glass bottles isn't really better for the environment (in terms of CO2) as compared to properly disposing of plastic. No real reason why those deposit+refill bottles need to be glass; they could just as well be quality plastic and reduce some transport-weight. Similarly having a guy driving a truck around to deliver heavy liquids seems inefficient when you could just as well bring all your plastic bottle back to the store at one time and refill from big tanks there.
  - eric_h 8y ago
    > many countries do distribute milk in thin plastic bags that you then empty into a pitcher at home. Nonsense - you put the whole bag in a pitcher and then snip an end off the bag! No need to do any dishes afterwards.
gianpaj 8y ago
In Ukraine, there is a big French supermarket chain called Ашан (auchan.ua), in which people can buy liquid cleaning products by the volume. For example, if you need a litre for dishwashing cleaning soap, you can go and pull a lever and fill an appropriate size plastic bottle. It's their own brand and it's very cheap. I'm not 100% sure if you can bring and use any plastic bottle, or you have first get it from them. They also have huge crates of pasta and other grains where you can simply shove how much you want into a plastic bag, weight it and pay at the till. No need to wrap those items in boxes and more containers. While Ukraine has many environmental problems (it's not easy or common to recycle, large % of uneducated population about these issues), it has some good ideas and policies like these.
- ryanianian 8y ago
  That's excellent. It's surprising even high-end specialty stores in the US (e.g. Whole Foods) don't do more of this.
  - briandear 8y ago
    It’s suprising that even Auchan in France doesn’t do this.
  - BRAlNlAC 8y ago
    It's the same problem that you see in Japan to an even greater degree, consumers perceive packaging as giving the product added value, so market forces push high-end retailers away from no-packaging because it's associated with discount/low end shops. In the US you can buy lots of things in 'Bulk' if you go a store like WinCo, which is marketed as being cheap. Additionally the Bulk foods just aren't as fresh as what you'd find packaged by the half-pound at Whole Foods as least in my anecdotal experience.
  - vinay427 8y ago
    The Whole Foods in my area has various bulk foods (through Sprouts has FAR more) and has bulk body products (soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc.).
- 8y ago
alexsb92 8y ago
Part of it is also that it's a lot more inert in terms of chemical reactions or leeching than plastic is.

Slippery_John 8y ago

Some detergent makers actually do sell refill bags that use far less plastic. There's also been a resurgence of milkmen in London and some other places, where you leave out your empty bottles and get a refill. While there aren't milkpeople where I live, there are a few places where I can pay a deposit on a glass bottle and then exchange it for a full bottle whenever I need. It's not widespread by any means, but it is happening.

ryanianian 8y ago
The re-usable detergent bags are nice, and many countries do distribute milk in thin plastic bags that you then empty into a pitcher at home. But as parent points out, exchanging glass bottles isn't really better for the environment (in terms of CO2) as compared to properly disposing of plastic. No real reason why those deposit+refill bottles need to be glass; they could just as well be quality plastic and reduce some transport-weight. Similarly having a guy driving a truck around to deliver heavy liquids seems inefficient when you could just as well bring all your plastic bottle back to the store at one time and refill from big tanks there.
- eric_h 8y ago
  > many countries do distribute milk in thin plastic bags that you then empty into a pitcher at home. Nonsense - you put the whole bag in a pitcher and then snip an end off the bag! No need to do any dishes afterwards.

gianpaj 8y ago

In Ukraine, there is a big French supermarket chain called Ашан (auchan.ua), in which people can buy liquid cleaning products by the volume. For example, if you need a litre for dishwashing cleaning soap, you can go and pull a lever and fill an appropriate size plastic bottle. It's their own brand and it's very cheap. I'm not 100% sure if you can bring and use any plastic bottle, or you have first get it from them. They also have huge crates of pasta and other grains where you can simply shove how much you want into a plastic bag, weight it and pay at the till. No need to wrap those items in boxes and more containers. While Ukraine has many environmental problems (it's not easy or common to recycle, large % of uneducated population about these issues), it has some good ideas and policies like these.

ryanianian 8y ago
That's excellent. It's surprising even high-end specialty stores in the US (e.g. Whole Foods) don't do more of this.
- briandear 8y ago
  It’s suprising that even Auchan in France doesn’t do this.
- BRAlNlAC 8y ago
  It's the same problem that you see in Japan to an even greater degree, consumers perceive packaging as giving the product added value, so market forces push high-end retailers away from no-packaging because it's associated with discount/low end shops. In the US you can buy lots of things in 'Bulk' if you go a store like WinCo, which is marketed as being cheap. Additionally the Bulk foods just aren't as fresh as what you'd find packaged by the half-pound at Whole Foods as least in my anecdotal experience.
- vinay427 8y ago
  The Whole Foods in my area has various bulk foods (through Sprouts has FAR more) and has bulk body products (soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc.).
8y ago

alexsb92 8y ago

Part of it is also that it's a lot more inert in terms of chemical reactions or leeching than plastic is.