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Glass bottles get reused, plastic gets recycled. The first PET bottles were made to be reused as well, they were quite a bit more substantial than the current

Glass bottles get reused, plastic gets recycled. The first PET bottles were made to be reused as well, they were quite a bit more substantial than the current versions. This scheme was scrapped quite soon, probably because it ended up being more expensive to clean these plastic bottles and discard the ones which for some reason were not usable any more. This led to the development of the current one-time-use thin-walled PET bottle. As to whether those wear marks on glass beer bottles are from them touching together during transport I'd suggest that this actually is not the case. They shouldn't come into contact with another, seeing as they are transported in crates with pockets for individual bottles. It is far more likely that those marks come from handling in the bottle washing-, filling- and labelling machines where the bottles gang and rub against each other. If you're from Germany you might have watched 'die Sendung mit der Maus' ('the program with the mouse', a long-running television program aimed at children which amongst others details all sorts of industrial processes) where this process is followed from start to finish. Here's an example from the '70s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Bd6YWrfWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Bd6YWrfWw

lm28469 7y ago
> This led to the development of the current one-time-use thin-walled PET bottle. I'm drinking from thick reusable/reused plastic bottle everyday here in Berlin, even coke is sold in them, they still exists > it ended up being more expensive to clean these plastic bottles Which is a shame because what we save in $s now will cost us much more than $s in the future. > It is far more likely that those marks come from handling in the bottle washing-, filling- and labelling machines where the bottles gang and rub against each other. Could be, either way it's a sign they are indeed reused. Thanks for the link.

lm28469 7y ago

> This led to the development of the current one-time-use thin-walled PET bottle. I'm drinking from thick reusable/reused plastic bottle everyday here in Berlin, even coke is sold in them, they still exists > it ended up being more expensive to clean these plastic bottles Which is a shame because what we save in $s now will cost us much more than $s in the future. > It is far more likely that those marks come from handling in the bottle washing-, filling- and labelling machines where the bottles gang and rub against each other. Could be, either way it's a sign they are indeed reused. Thanks for the link.