Glass bottle or plastic bottle, disposable or reusable, can or Tetra Pak - which is more sustainable? If you're looking for an answer to this question, you've come to the right place!
Who tries, live more environmentally conscious and avoiding waste is always a challenge when it comes to the wide variety of drinks packaging in supermarkets and organic stores. Should I buy water in reusable plastic or glass bottles? And what is the most sustainable option when only disposable bottles are available? Even if there is no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions, fortunately it only takes a few decisive factors to quickly check the sustainability of the packaging.
In this article, I would like to explain these factors to you, compare the advantages and disadvantages of glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and Tetra Paks and find out which packaging is the most sustainable choice. Let's go!
You can find a brief overview here in advance:
Factors: What determines whether packaging is environmentally friendly or not?
When is packaging environmentally friendly? Whether glass or plastic, can or beverage carton - every packaging material has a history and also a life after use by the consumer:inside.
Accordingly Several factors considered to be able to assess the sustainability of packaging. Before we go straight into the comparison, I would therefore like to introduce them to you here:
Production
The production of a packaging requires Energy and Natural resources - and is often accompanied by considerable CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts.
Reusability
Reusable packaging can be Reduce waste and reduce the need for new packaging. The more often a glass bottle or plastic bottle can be used, the more environmentally friendly it is in the end, as it reduces the Conserves the earth's resources in everyday life.
Recycling
Recycling makes it possible to Recycle materials from packaging and make new bottles or other products from them. This reduces waste and conserves natural resources. The Recyclability and the recycling rates are the decisive aspects in this respect.
Transportation
The Weight and the transport routes of cans, Tetra Paks, glass bottles or plastic bottles also provide information about their sustainability. Not least because transportation can also require a considerable amount of energy and emit climate-damaging CO2. The transportation load and distance must therefore also be taken into account in the assessment.
Pollution
If drinks packaging is not properly reused or recycled, it often ends up in nature. The so-called Littering is not only a massive environmental pollution, but also represents a Great danger for the animal world dar.
Accordingly, also play the biodegradability and the Motivation of consumers The correct disposal of waste plays a major role in environmental compatibility.
Pros and cons: Are glass bottles more environmentally friendly than plastic bottles, cans and Tetra Paks?
Now that the decisive factors for sustainable beverage bottles are known, we can develop a meaningful comparison of the pro and con arguments make. Below I have highlighted them for glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and Tetra Paks.
Glass bottles
Advantages:
- Reusability: A Glass bottle has a long shelf life, is fully recyclable and, according to the Federal Environment Agency, can be reused up to 50 times before a new glass bottle is made from the material. PET returnable bottles, on the other hand, can be refilled a maximum of 20 times.₁
- Deposit system: In Germany, almost all glass bottles have a cash equivalent that can be exchanged at a drinks store. This is a major incentive for consumers to reuse their bottles.
- Health: Glass bottles are inert and do not react with the food stored in them, so there is no risk to our health.
- Recycling: Glass bottles can be 100% recycled - the recycling rate in Germany was an impressive 84.2% in 2020.₂
Disadvantages:
- Weight: Glass bottles are heavy and fragile, which makes transportation more difficult, more vulnerable and more energy-intensive. Ultimately, the greater the transportation distance, the worse the ecological balance.
- Production: The production of glass bottles requires large amounts of energy and water and emits large quantities of CO2.
- Recycling: Recycling glass bottles requires extensive sorting and crushing to turn them back into raw glass and make new products from it.
Plastic bottles
Advantages:
- Weight: PET bottles are lightweight and more climate-friendly to transport than heavy glass bottles.
- Breaking strength: Plastic bottles last forever and do not break as quickly as glass bottles.
- Recycling: Plastic bottles can also be reused, recycled and processed into new bottles or other plastic products.
- Deposit system: Many plastic bottles sold in Germany are subject to the Deposit system and can be exchanged by consumers.
- Manufacture: Plastic bottles require less energy to produce than glass bottles, but have to be recycled more frequently.
Disadvantages:
- Environmental impact: Plastic bottles are not biodegradable, remain in the environment for up to 450 years and have then turned into harmful waste. Microplastics decomposed.₃
- Resources: The production of plastic bottles is based on the limited raw material crude oil and also emits large quantities of CO2.
- Health: Plastic bottles can contain harmful chemicals that can migrate into the contents of the bottle, especially when exposed to sunlight for long periods.
Aluminum cans
Advantages:
- Transportation: Aluminum cans are unbreakable, lightweight and also have a long shelf life.
- Recycling: Aluminum cans are 100 percent recyclable. The material can be reused very often.
Disadvantages:
- Production: The production and recycling of cans requires new raw materials, which mainly come from South America, Asia or Australia, require additional transportation routes and are needed for the production of the cans. Deforestation of the rainforests provides.
- Reuse: Cans are not resealable and can therefore only be used once by consumers.
- Environmental impact: Aluminum cans can survive in the environment for at least 50 years and pose a great danger to animals, not least because of possible sharp edges.₄
Tetra Paks
Advantages:
- Transportation: Beverage cartons are light, stable and save space during transportation as they are stackable.
- Raw materials: Tetra Paks are partly made of paper, as a renewable raw material. Often even paper from sustainable forestry set.
Disadvantages:
- Recycling: At just 30%₅, Tetra Paks have a lower recycling rate than glass bottles or plastic bottles. This is mainly because the material mix of plastic, aluminum and paper is difficult to recycle.
- Biodegradability: As drinks cartons are also made of plastic, they are a danger to animals when disposed of in nature. They do not decompose in the environment for around 100 years.₆
Selection: Which drinks packaging is the most sustainable?
The advantages and disadvantages mentioned above at least provide information about the general sustainability of the two beverage containers. The Federal Environment Agency clearly recommends drinks from reusable bottles from the regionas the material is reused and the transportation routes are short.₇ Regional water has the best carbon footprint.
The question of "disposable or reusable?" has therefore been answered. Cans and drinks cartons are no longer needed. But what about glass bottles and plastic bottles? The Federal Environment Agency sees only marginal differences in the eco-balance of glass and PET bottles depending on the area of use and considers both beverage bottles to be sustainable.
In the end, it is also crucial how we consumers deal with it. How often do we refill a glass bottle or plastic bottle? Are they disposed of properly so that they can be recycled or reused? These are crucial factors.
Whether glass bottle or plastic bottle: the most sustainable, environmentally friendly and healthy drink is in the end still the Tap water consumption from the eternally reusable, own drinking bottle.
Tip: If you find the water from the tap tastes too boring, you should definitely take a look at my follow-up article to help you improve your water quality. Give taste to tap water.
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Small glass bottle25 € -
Bottle brush16 € -
Large stainless steel drinking bottle25 €
Reusable glass bottles and reusable plastic bottles have the best eco-balance
So both glass bottles and plastic bottles do well in eco-tests. Personally, however, I prefer glass bottles to plastic bottles, as I like to use as little plastic as possible. plastic free living and I don't want any artificial residues in my drinks.
When I buy water, I also make sure that it is regional water that is sold in reusable bottles. As a rule, however, I drink tap water from such a bottle. Glass bottle with swing top*.
I really hope that I could help you with this article. Do you have questions, suggestions or a completely different answer to the question "glass or plastic"? Then I look forward to your comment.
Stay sustainable,
PS: As you basically regional shopping in the next blog article. Good luck with the implementation!
References:
₁,₇ Federal Environment Agency: Reusable bottles (as at: 24.08.2017), available at https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/umwelttipps-fuer-den-alltag/essen-trinken/mehrwegflaschen. [11.05.2023].
₂ Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV): Waste glass (as of 17.09.2021), available at https://www.bmuv.de/themen/wasser-ressourcen-abfall/kreislaufwirtschaft/abfallarten-abfallstroeme/altglas. [11.05.2023].
₃,₄ F. Suhr: Plastic lasts forever in the oceans (as at 28.03.2019), available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/17508/haltbarkeit-von-plastikmuell-im-meer. [11.05.2023].
₅ Deutsche Umwelthilfe: Recycling-Lüge bei Getränkekartons (as at: 21.01.2021), available at https://www.duh.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung/recycling-luege-bei-getraenkekartons-deutsche-umwelthilfe-fordert-pfand-fuer-klimaschaedliche-einwegver. [11.05.2023].
₆ wisefood GmbH: Plastic waste - The most important facts briefly explained (as at 09.06.2022), available at https://www.wisefood.eu/blogs/nachhaltig-verpackungen/plastikmull-die-wichtigsten-fakten-kurz-erklart. [11.05.2023].
