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It really is time we returned to glass bottles. If people continue to be irresponsible and still don't dispose of them properly they will at least sink and most
by hilbert42 4y ago
It really is time we returned to glass bottles. If people continue to be irresponsible and still don't dispose of them properly they will at least sink and mostly do so locally where eventually they may be recovered.
To bootstrap that, a decent (truly effective) deposit should placed on bottles (and drink cans) to ensure they are returned—not the piddling amount of 10c or so as some authorities have mandated but at least 50c, perhaps even a dollar.
If plastic bottles (and cans) are retained then the mandated deposit should be at least double that for glass bottles. A high differential deposit between glass and plastic would provide incentive for drink manufacturers to run with glass, so too consumers. I'm aware there will be some instances where plastic bottles/cans may have to be retained for convenience and or safely reasons, this too is covered by the large difference between plastic and glass containers.
Plastics on packaging can be taxed at a higher rate than say 'rottable' cardboard.
Yes, I know this doesn't cover everything but placing deposits on drink bottles is a no-brainer—and an effective start. It's simple and effective, especially so when the deposit is high enough. It's worked in the past when Coca-Cola only had glass bottles—so it ought to be no big deal for the company to return to what it once did very successfully (I can remember when glass Coke bottles were not only returned but were also recycled—some bottles had been reused so many times that the shine and luster had been lost from their prominent edges by them bumping against each other).
This all boils down to a battle between large corporations such as Coca-Cola (who want to maximize profits at the environment's expense) and the legislature. If people really care about the environment then they should lobby their democratic representive for such changes. Just leaving the lobbying to the Coca-Colas of this world—who'll be lobbying the counter position—will get us nowhere.
- dr_dshiv 4y agoAmen!!
- ilyt 4y agoI wouldn't even be against going "here is standarised bottle shape, use it or fuck off, you can have fancy sticker on it."
- Gigachad 4y agoAt least a standard color. The main issue with glass recycling is when it gets smashed and mixed up the output is ugly.
- hilbert42 4y agoAgreed, but with today's tech it ought to be a simple matter to quickly (on-the-fly) sort out and separate brown, green and clear glass even with very small fragments. Adding the facility would cost, but then any attempt to clean up the environment won't come free. If we want to make progress we should get used to the fact.
- fredrikholm 4y agoI can already hear the screams of Socialism/Communism and the slippery slope on how we're all going to be enslaved by the Guv' if we 'let this happen'. EU has been pushing for standardization for things like chargers, let's hope they keep it up and force more and more companies/industries to abandon vendor lock-in (for physical products).
- kwhitefoot 4y agoPretty much soft drinks come in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, aluminium cans, or Tetrapack style cartons here in Norway. The cans and bottles have a deposit on them and every supermarket has a reverse vending machine which prints a voucher you redeem at the till. The cartons are collected along with cardboard and paper for recycling It's pretty rare to see any of these things discarded in the street. PET bottles and aluminium cans are much better than glass because they can be compacted for transport and subsequent recycling.
- hilbert42 4y agoThat's the enlightened view that we've come to expect from Scandinavian countries but most of us in anglophone countries still haven't a clue about such masters. Every step along the way towards better environmental controls Big Business fights with paltry excuses. In such matters, our supposedly-elected representatives don't do our bidding but rather that of industry. Here, I've always considered my vote never to be a full vote but rather a half one with Big Business holding the other half. Right, our democracies are no longer such. On the matter of plastic being better than glass for compaction etc. Maybe so where you are but that argument falls flat when having to deal with wine bottles the vast majority of which across the world are still glass and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Any return to glass for non alcoholic drinks would load onto and enlarge existing glass wine bottle disposal methods. That said, I'd equally include wine bottles in the deposit charge. This would stop tons of them ending up in landfill and eleswhere—the glass would then be recycled.
- kwhitefoot 4y agoGlass wine bottles are too variable for re-use and most of them come from other countries but all glass is recycled here, it goes into the same bin as metal. However, a lot of wine is now sold in bag in box or even in Tetrapack style cartons. These cartons and boxes are also recycled in the same bin as cardboard and paper, the plastic internal bag is separated by the consumer and a sack of plastic is collected by the local authority every two weeks.
- bamboozled 4y ago