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We tried switching from plastic to glass a few years ago and while I liked the idea, the execution was terrible. The biggest issue was simply storage efficienc

We tried switching from plastic to glass a few years ago and while I liked the idea, the execution was terrible. The biggest issue was simply storage efficiency. They don't nest nearly as well as the plastic containers, so our drawer was always a disaster and overflowing. The lids of the ones we got all cracked fairly quickly, so I bought some silicone replacements which are great but super expensive. Also, our family isn't careful enough for glass containers, we had a lot of breakage. IMHO you can't beat those cheap plastic clear containers with blue lids: They nest really well, you can see into them, they last a long time... They're sold under a number of brands: ZipLock, Glad...

hmmm-i-wonder 2y ago
We switched to glass and never looked back. We had the space to store them without issues. Previously we had started hand-washing the plastic Tupperware/Ziplock containers because of warping in the dishwasher. They also stained and discoloured and no matter how much cleaning hand or machine wouldn't go back to looking clean. We still hand-wash the plastic lids but the glass goes into the dishwasher. Now we have no more warped lids or containers. The containers are microwave safe. We also don't have breakage issues we haven't broken one in 5+ years. To each their own I guess. My glass/steel dishes are vastly outlasting any plastic ones I've ever owned and are more enjoyable to use.
- linsomniac 2y ago
  Interesting, we haven't had any issues with the plastic containers warping in the dishwasher, and I'm firmly of the opinion that we only have things that can go in the dishwasher. However, we only put them on the top (glasses) rack, with the rare exception. As far as discoloration, that seems to largely be an issue caused by using the storage containers in the microwave, 3-4 years ago we stopped doing that to reduce the chemical leaching from plastic into food (which seems to be much higher at higher temps). Agreed that some people will have no issue with breakage, but in our family that was a serious problem. We probably broke half the containers in 2 years, and as I understand it, broken glass isn't recyclable. So, I guess the plus is that it's a more stable chemical compound in the landfill, but it's still going to the landfill. So it becomes a question of: Glass in landfill or plastic that we can reuse longer.
  - jszymborski 2y ago
    > broken glass isn't recyclable Super curious as to why that might be the case. Isn't breaking glass the first part of recycling? Perhaps it's a safety issue?
    - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
      My recycling is picked up by a truck with an arm. It goes high up and is dumped into the truck and you can hear the glass breaking as it falls. Maybe it's different elsewhere but I can't imagine mine gives a hoot if it's pre-broken or not.
    - linsomniac 2y ago
      I've wondered about whether the handling of the recycling container ends up with significant amounts of broken glass. According to this page (echoed on other pages) you are on the right track with the safety issue, but also they aren't equipped to separate the glass fragments from other recycling. https://recyclecoach.com/blog/is-broken-glass-recyclable/ https://recyclecoach.com/blog/is-broken-glass-recyclable/
    - BrandoElFollito 2y ago
      I guess in France (and I've seen this pretty much everywhere in Europe) the glass go into a green bin with a protective thingie at the top, falls down and shatters - so broken glass isn't for sure an issue here.
      - OptionOfT 2y ago
        In Los Angeles and Phoenix glass goes into the recycling bin, together with aluminum cans, plastic bottles etc. Here the idea is that you throw it into recycling and that it gets sorted at the recycling facility. We are told not to crush cans before throwing them in recycling as crushing them makes it harder to separate them. It's very different from when I lived in Belgium. Glass went into glass recycling, plastic in a blue bag (and they checked, a LOT), refuse in the grey bin, and there are battery recycling stations EVERYWHERE. And the way they encourage you to sort your trash in Belgium is by weighing your trash (container full - container empty = weight of trash), and you pay for that. So cheating and throwing your glass into your refuse container will end up costing you.
amluto 2y ago
The downvotes here are silly. Glass containers are conceptually great. Many of the actual designs are quite bad. Little glass chips in the drawer are not at all rare. Maybe someone should try to design a dishwasher safe container that is silicone on the outside and glass on the inside. Silicon compounds can adhere covalently to glass, so this should be possible.
- linsomniac 2y ago
  Interesting idea. Or maybe it could just be made out of a harder silicone? Or maybe stainless steel? Though I guess both of those would have an additional problem: You can't see what's in them. In our family, something going into an opaque container in the fridge is nearly guaranteed to end up getting thrown away, though in particular that's a problem for ingredients (rather than prepared foods): if I can't see the chopped onions or half can of crushed tomatoes, I'm gonna forget to use them.
- kelipso 2y ago
  Pretty sure silicone will release compounds into the air when microwaving just like plastic does.
  - amluto 2y ago
    Silicone is noteworthy for being stable at quite high temperatures. If you’re worried about plastics offgassing in a microwave, take a look at what the inside of your microwave is made from.

hmmm-i-wonder 2y ago

We switched to glass and never looked back. We had the space to store them without issues. Previously we had started hand-washing the plastic Tupperware/Ziplock containers because of warping in the dishwasher. They also stained and discoloured and no matter how much cleaning hand or machine wouldn't go back to looking clean. We still hand-wash the plastic lids but the glass goes into the dishwasher. Now we have no more warped lids or containers. The containers are microwave safe. We also don't have breakage issues we haven't broken one in 5+ years. To each their own I guess. My glass/steel dishes are vastly outlasting any plastic ones I've ever owned and are more enjoyable to use.

linsomniac 2y ago
Interesting, we haven't had any issues with the plastic containers warping in the dishwasher, and I'm firmly of the opinion that we only have things that can go in the dishwasher. However, we only put them on the top (glasses) rack, with the rare exception. As far as discoloration, that seems to largely be an issue caused by using the storage containers in the microwave, 3-4 years ago we stopped doing that to reduce the chemical leaching from plastic into food (which seems to be much higher at higher temps). Agreed that some people will have no issue with breakage, but in our family that was a serious problem. We probably broke half the containers in 2 years, and as I understand it, broken glass isn't recyclable. So, I guess the plus is that it's a more stable chemical compound in the landfill, but it's still going to the landfill. So it becomes a question of: Glass in landfill or plastic that we can reuse longer.
- jszymborski 2y ago
  > broken glass isn't recyclable Super curious as to why that might be the case. Isn't breaking glass the first part of recycling? Perhaps it's a safety issue?
  - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
    My recycling is picked up by a truck with an arm. It goes high up and is dumped into the truck and you can hear the glass breaking as it falls. Maybe it's different elsewhere but I can't imagine mine gives a hoot if it's pre-broken or not.
  - linsomniac 2y ago
    I've wondered about whether the handling of the recycling container ends up with significant amounts of broken glass. According to this page (echoed on other pages) you are on the right track with the safety issue, but also they aren't equipped to separate the glass fragments from other recycling. https://recyclecoach.com/blog/is-broken-glass-recyclable/ https://recyclecoach.com/blog/is-broken-glass-recyclable/
  - BrandoElFollito 2y ago
    I guess in France (and I've seen this pretty much everywhere in Europe) the glass go into a green bin with a protective thingie at the top, falls down and shatters - so broken glass isn't for sure an issue here.
    - OptionOfT 2y ago
      In Los Angeles and Phoenix glass goes into the recycling bin, together with aluminum cans, plastic bottles etc. Here the idea is that you throw it into recycling and that it gets sorted at the recycling facility. We are told not to crush cans before throwing them in recycling as crushing them makes it harder to separate them. It's very different from when I lived in Belgium. Glass went into glass recycling, plastic in a blue bag (and they checked, a LOT), refuse in the grey bin, and there are battery recycling stations EVERYWHERE. And the way they encourage you to sort your trash in Belgium is by weighing your trash (container full - container empty = weight of trash), and you pay for that. So cheating and throwing your glass into your refuse container will end up costing you.

amluto 2y ago

The downvotes here are silly. Glass containers are conceptually great. Many of the actual designs are quite bad. Little glass chips in the drawer are not at all rare. Maybe someone should try to design a dishwasher safe container that is silicone on the outside and glass on the inside. Silicon compounds can adhere covalently to glass, so this should be possible.

linsomniac 2y ago
Interesting idea. Or maybe it could just be made out of a harder silicone? Or maybe stainless steel? Though I guess both of those would have an additional problem: You can't see what's in them. In our family, something going into an opaque container in the fridge is nearly guaranteed to end up getting thrown away, though in particular that's a problem for ingredients (rather than prepared foods): if I can't see the chopped onions or half can of crushed tomatoes, I'm gonna forget to use them.
kelipso 2y ago
Pretty sure silicone will release compounds into the air when microwaving just like plastic does.
- amluto 2y ago
  Silicone is noteworthy for being stable at quite high temperatures. If you’re worried about plastics offgassing in a microwave, take a look at what the inside of your microwave is made from.