Glass vs. Plastic
When you shop, many times you choose between glass bottles or plastic bottles. Like olive oil, or salad dressings. To figure out whether a glass bottle or a plastic bottle is better for the environment, we need to consider several factors from production to how it is disposed of. It’s important that we understand what it is that we’re buying, as well as the impact our choices may have. Here are the environmental impacts of a plastic and a glass bottle to help you make the right choice next time you are shopping.
Plastic
If you can avoid buying single-use plastic bottles, please do. As far as the environment goes, plastic is the worst material we can buy. The production of plastic releases tons of toxic pollutants into the environment and the plastic that is produced will never go away. There is some talk that after about 500 years, plastic will disintegrate, but most scientists believe that plastic is forever, and not in that “I love you forever” kind of way.
Drilling and fracking
Before the plastic ever becomes a bottle, manufacturers need to acquire the necessary organic materials that make plastic, including crude oil and natural gases. The production of plastic begins the way it ends, by causing harm to the earth. Although crude oil and natural gas may be organic materials, our means of sourcing them are not. The only way to get the oil and the natural gas is through drilling and fracking. Both methods have damaging effects on the environment, like air and water pollution.
Glass
The raw materials needed to make glass bottles are readily available. Most glass bottles that we come across today are made from sand, ash, limestone, and a few additives to bond it all together. All these materials can be mined. Mining does not come without environmental consequences. Mining can cause some noise pollution, and there is also a risk of water pollution. Mining can also be disruptive to the ecosystem around the mines. However, the biggest problem with glass is that it is heavy, which means that it will require more gas and energy to transport.
And the winner is….
If it’s a choice between plastic and glass, glass is the clear winner. Not only is glass a bit friendlier to the environment in the production phase, but the best part about glass bottles is that they are 100% recyclable. Plastic is also recyclable, but studies tell us that only a tiny fraction of single-use plastic ends up being recycled, whereas about 80% of glass ends up being recycled. Once a glass bottle is recycled, it can make its way back on the shelf in about a month.
The more we recycle, the less we have to drill, frack, and mine for new materials. Until we learn to recycle our single-use plastics, glass is the clear choice when you are trying to quench your thirst.
Sunrise Sanitation provides waste and recycling services to your home, business, and job-site in West Virginia and Maryland.
