I know it’s early but not a single comment about microplastics when discussing plastic vs glass? Y’all slacking.
Whatcha talkin bout Willis?
As we all know, glass bottles are definitely not environmentally ruinous
“Return to tradition” may be tempting to some, but it’s not an actual solution.
Why are tetrapacks so good?
I assumed they were terrible as laminated paper can’t be recycled?
As I write this I start to think this might be one of those things I learned in high school that might be total BS.
Probably that ultimately even disposing of laminated paper is more environmentally friendly than the process of recycling energy-intensive materials like glass and plastic.
That’s because we didn’t move to nuclear like we should have 20-30 years ago.
This is not entirely wrong, but the OP is about garbage and environmental pollution with it. It’s a fact that glass is basically just fancy shaped sand and turns back into normal sand with almost zero side effects, if it reaches the environment instead of being recycled.
If one makes glass with renewable energy (green hydrogen, for example) and the shipping is done with renewable energy (e.g. electric trucks), even disposable glass bottles become greener than plastics made from mineral oil can ever be.
A study comparing the environmental impacts of various single-use beverage containers has concluded that glass bottles have a greater overall impact than plastic bottles
But… but… Glass is not single use. That is the whole point. I don’t like this article.
But… but… Glass is not single use.
When used for mass-produced beverages it very much is. Hell, plenty of beverages still use disposable glass bottles today, and that’s not even getting into the fact that glass bottles use to be the standard, which is part of the reason why there’s so much nostalgia around them.
In the same vein, plastic is not inherently single-use. If we’re comparing multi-use plastic and multi-use glass, then the same calculus applies.
Lots of countries have deposits on bottles and they will very much be reused. If that’s not being done it’s a cultural/political problem not a glass bottle problem.
Maybe the mass produced soft drinks are the problem.
The tiny individual-use bottles, at least.
But in the meme it’s the kind of milk bottle you return to the store for $ and they wash and refill it. Not really covered by that study I don’t think
glass bottles have a more damaging overall effect, largely because they are heavier and require more energy for their production.
If you have single use bottles, aluminum like soda cans is lowest impact. But any reusable solution (meal, plastic, or glass) is much much better.
What about the plastic lining in the can?
Is that a “straw man” I smell?
He’s literally offering you a direct rebuttal. Do you even know what the term “straw man” means?
A straw man argument is a fallacy where someone sets up and attacks a position that is not being debated.
Your meme DIRECTLY suggests a return to glass, and he literally offered up evidence that glass is not a solution because it’s actually more ruinous to the environment than plastics are.
Is that a “straw man” I smell?
Alright, I’m sure you can explain what the meme means and how it has absolutely nothing to do with an implication that glass bottles are less environmentally ruinous than plastic. By all means, I’m all ears.
Reusable plastic bottles or metal are great, it’s the single use plastics that are really terrible.
The banning of plastic bag sees the rise of reusable bag…being taken as single use. Multiple times higher footprint, multiple times higher cost. People will do everything for their own convenient.
I think realizing that there is a problem is the first step to fixing it.
I remember seeing really old papers posted here where our current climate problems were being forecasted as early as 1920.
BP invented the carbon footprint term in an (successful) attempt to shift responsibility to the consumer in about 1990 I believe.
We’re way past realisation and spreading the word.
This is pure ignorance we’re fighting today.
The problem was realized decades ago, and yet we’ve accelerated our use. It’s very similar to emissions. If only we had left that thick sludge in the ground, neither of these would be an issue.
I don’t think it is as urgent as the media makes it seem. For the media it is all about sensational stories. Yes long term it is something to be concerned about but it isn’t something you should freak out over.
Also if it gets bad enough some company will profit from it. If there is money to be had with solutions suddenly you get the best minds working on it.
Konvinient!