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Ban plastic bottles. Make them use glass bottles in a closed cycle where the bottles are constantly cycled and then turned into something else when they can't b

Ban plastic bottles. Make them use glass bottles in a closed cycle where the bottles are constantly cycled and then turned into something else when they can't be cycled... or use aluminum which is recyclable. And let's call out recycling for the sham that it is. Recycling is a lie for plastics, plastics can not be economically recycled. They must be banned and the polluters made to internalize the externality.

hombre_fatal 7y ago
Any Lidl near me in Prague in 2009 would take glass bottles and give you a cash deposit back. The USA will probably get something like that when it catches up in 100 years.
- codingdave 7y ago
  We're at about 20% in the USA with such programs: http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/state-beverage-container-laws.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc...
- SteveGerencser 7y ago
  We had it. I grew up returning glass bottles and worked at a bottling company in the late 80s doing nothing but sorting glass bottles by brand and type so that they could be washed, sanitized, filled and sent right back out. The job sucked. This was also about the time we started getting 2 liter plastic bottles.
m463 7y ago
I like aluminum better. Glass bottles are not perfect. They are lots heavier, which leads to transportation pollution. They also break and hurt people. As to plastics - You are correct, they do not recycle and when you try to do it, even with a very low ratio of recycled to new plastics you end up with crappy weak plastic - think laundry baskets that have handles that break easily. i think we should just learn to burn plastics - efficiently and cleanly.
- technofiend 7y ago
  I'm down for completely banning single use plastics: everything from shopping bags to clamshell packaging can go tomorrow IMHO. Same with styrofoam, frankly. Having said that glass bottles were a nightmare when I was a kid because of littering assholes who would toss them anywhere. Littering is less of an issue these days but I think going back to glass would need to both reward recycling and shame litter bugs. Walking home from the local swimming hole after slicing the bottom of your foot open is no fun.
  - neverartful 7y ago
    Yep, the hazards of broken glass are one of the downsides of glass. However, we have that situation now mostly with beer bottles. I routinely pick up roadside trash in my subdivision and much of what I pick up is glass beer bottles. The other downside (as others have already pointed out) is the weight of heavy glass containers built for reuse. It raises the cost of distribution.
- benj111 7y ago
  If you're going to make the case that glass is heavy, shouldn't the same logic be applied to the drink inside too? What about something akin to soda stream, either at home or in store?
redwall_hp 7y ago
Glass bottles weigh about 10 times more than plastic bottles. Enjoy all the extra CO2 from shipping.
- neverartful 7y ago
  What extra CO2 from shipping? When Coca Cola was distributed in glass bottles there were local (or regional) bottling centers. The Coca Cola syrup was distributed to these bottling centers and they're the ones that filled bottles for local/regional distribution. I don't recall any problems with CO2.
  - neverartful 7y ago
    Replying to my own comment. Initially, I was thinking that the mention of CO2 was related to carbonation in the drink. It's now clear to me that it was reference to CO2 emissions of transporting goods that would be significantly heavier. It seems to me that if CO2 emissions for distributing heavier, reusable glass containers is a significant problem for our society, I can't imagine what we'll do with all the other (unrelated) things we have (and do) that have much bigger problems with emissions.
- michaelmrose 7y ago
  The liquid weighs more than either.
- antoineMoPa 7y ago
  I'd say make it a semi-luxury product. A once/twice per month $3.75 - $5.75 pleasure that comes in a glass bottle. The sweet refreshing taste of Coca-Cola should not be an everyday thing (otherwise it becomes an health issue). So you reduce C02 & health impact and maintain profitability.
  - yeahsure 7y ago
    And who determines the amount an individual can consume per month? I have friends and family that drink at least a bottle a day and have no plans on stopping.
xorfish 7y ago
> Recycling is a lie for plastics, plastics can not be economically recycled. That is simply not true, just go to most of Europe. In Switzerland 83% of PET bottles get recycled. 0% ends up directly in landfills. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-switzerland-the-world-champion-of-recycling/42382610 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-switzerland-the-w...
- forgotmypw3 7y ago
  How much of the plastic packaging is PET?
  - xorfish 7y ago
    For bottles it is probably the majority. Followed by glas for beer and wine and aluminum cans. For the rest, plastic contains a good amount of energy. You can burn it and recover some energy from it. It also reduces the volume of the waste by 80%.

hombre_fatal 7y ago

Any Lidl near me in Prague in 2009 would take glass bottles and give you a cash deposit back. The USA will probably get something like that when it catches up in 100 years.

codingdave 7y ago
We're at about 20% in the USA with such programs: http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/state-beverage-container-laws.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc...
SteveGerencser 7y ago
We had it. I grew up returning glass bottles and worked at a bottling company in the late 80s doing nothing but sorting glass bottles by brand and type so that they could be washed, sanitized, filled and sent right back out. The job sucked. This was also about the time we started getting 2 liter plastic bottles.

m463 7y ago

I like aluminum better. Glass bottles are not perfect. They are lots heavier, which leads to transportation pollution. They also break and hurt people. As to plastics - You are correct, they do not recycle and when you try to do it, even with a very low ratio of recycled to new plastics you end up with crappy weak plastic - think laundry baskets that have handles that break easily. i think we should just learn to burn plastics - efficiently and cleanly.

technofiend 7y ago
I'm down for completely banning single use plastics: everything from shopping bags to clamshell packaging can go tomorrow IMHO. Same with styrofoam, frankly. Having said that glass bottles were a nightmare when I was a kid because of littering assholes who would toss them anywhere. Littering is less of an issue these days but I think going back to glass would need to both reward recycling and shame litter bugs. Walking home from the local swimming hole after slicing the bottom of your foot open is no fun.
- neverartful 7y ago
  Yep, the hazards of broken glass are one of the downsides of glass. However, we have that situation now mostly with beer bottles. I routinely pick up roadside trash in my subdivision and much of what I pick up is glass beer bottles. The other downside (as others have already pointed out) is the weight of heavy glass containers built for reuse. It raises the cost of distribution.
benj111 7y ago
If you're going to make the case that glass is heavy, shouldn't the same logic be applied to the drink inside too? What about something akin to soda stream, either at home or in store?

redwall_hp 7y ago

Glass bottles weigh about 10 times more than plastic bottles. Enjoy all the extra CO2 from shipping.

neverartful 7y ago
What extra CO2 from shipping? When Coca Cola was distributed in glass bottles there were local (or regional) bottling centers. The Coca Cola syrup was distributed to these bottling centers and they're the ones that filled bottles for local/regional distribution. I don't recall any problems with CO2.
- neverartful 7y ago
  Replying to my own comment. Initially, I was thinking that the mention of CO2 was related to carbonation in the drink. It's now clear to me that it was reference to CO2 emissions of transporting goods that would be significantly heavier. It seems to me that if CO2 emissions for distributing heavier, reusable glass containers is a significant problem for our society, I can't imagine what we'll do with all the other (unrelated) things we have (and do) that have much bigger problems with emissions.
michaelmrose 7y ago
The liquid weighs more than either.
antoineMoPa 7y ago
I'd say make it a semi-luxury product. A once/twice per month $3.75 - $5.75 pleasure that comes in a glass bottle. The sweet refreshing taste of Coca-Cola should not be an everyday thing (otherwise it becomes an health issue). So you reduce C02 & health impact and maintain profitability.
- yeahsure 7y ago
  And who determines the amount an individual can consume per month? I have friends and family that drink at least a bottle a day and have no plans on stopping.

xorfish 7y ago

> Recycling is a lie for plastics, plastics can not be economically recycled. That is simply not true, just go to most of Europe. In Switzerland 83% of PET bottles get recycled. 0% ends up directly in landfills. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-switzerland-the-world-champion-of-recycling/42382610 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-switzerland-the-w...

forgotmypw3 7y ago
How much of the plastic packaging is PET?
- xorfish 7y ago
  For bottles it is probably the majority. Followed by glas for beer and wine and aluminum cans. For the rest, plastic contains a good amount of energy. You can burn it and recover some energy from it. It also reduces the volume of the waste by 80%.