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Plastic Water Bottles, Which Enabled a Drinks Boom, Now Threaten a Crisis (wsj.com)
Bottled water, which recently dethroned soda as America's most popular beverage, is facing a crisis. From a report: A consumer backlash against disposable plastic plus new government mandates and bans in places such as zoos and department stores have the world's biggest bottled-water makers scrambling to find alternatives. Evian this year pledged to make all its plastic bottles entirely from recycled plastic by 2025, up from 30% today and among the boldest goals in the industry. Executives at parent company Danone hope the move will help it regain market share and win over plastic detractors who are already pressuring the makers of straws, bags and coffee cups.
There's a big problem. The industry has tried and failed for years to make a better bottle. Existing recycling technology needs clean, clear plastic to make new water bottles, and bottled-water companies say low recycling rates and a lack of infrastructure have stymied supply. Danone, for its part, is betting the reputation of its flagship water brand on a new technology that claims to turn old plastic from things like dirty carpets and sticky ketchup bottles into plastic suitable for new water bottles. [...] Bottled-water sales have boomed in recent decades amid safety fears about tap water and a shift away from sugary drinks. Between 1994 and 2017, U.S. consumption soared 284% to nearly 42 gallons a year per person, according to Beverage Marketing Corp., a consulting firm. Further reading: Microplastics Found In 93 Percent of Bottled Water Tested In Global Study, and Amazon Wants To Curb Selling 'CRaP' Items it Can't Profit On, Like Bottled Water and Snacks: Report.
There's a big problem. The industry has tried and failed for years to make a better bottle. Existing recycling technology needs clean, clear plastic to make new water bottles, and bottled-water companies say low recycling rates and a lack of infrastructure have stymied supply. Danone, for its part, is betting the reputation of its flagship water brand on a new technology that claims to turn old plastic from things like dirty carpets and sticky ketchup bottles into plastic suitable for new water bottles. [...] Bottled-water sales have boomed in recent decades amid safety fears about tap water and a shift away from sugary drinks. Between 1994 and 2017, U.S. consumption soared 284% to nearly 42 gallons a year per person, according to Beverage Marketing Corp., a consulting firm. Further reading: Microplastics Found In 93 Percent of Bottled Water Tested In Global Study, and Amazon Wants To Curb Selling 'CRaP' Items it Can't Profit On, Like Bottled Water and Snacks: Report.
Use a deposit. Every can costs you 50 cents more which you'll get back upon return.
Works like a charm in other countries.
We Swiss are even dumb enough to recycle without deposits, silly us.
And if worse comes to worst, use aluminum cans! Beverages taste better from those anyhow...
Its piped into my house and costs pennies a gallon. Good luck finding a public water fountain these days.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
Aluminum cans are easy to make from recycled cans, tend to get recycled more, and are more compact per volume of liquid than plastic bottles.
Hell, I'm seeing soda makers moving from cans to bottles more; this seems counterproductive. Just keep using aluminum cans!
Yes, this is one of the reasons that there is no animal life on Earth.
You are welcome on my lawn.
One of the problems with getting rid of recycling is that - absent any other action - we'll still be using plastics. So dumping plastics in the ground still means that we're extracting oil to turn into plastic. Plus, plastics tend to find their way into our oceans where they then break down into microscopic particles and enter the food chain. (Not in a "broken down into components" sense, but in an "ingested and poison/kill animals" sense.)
The proper thing to do is use all 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, not just Recycle on its own. First, we need to reduce how much plastic we use. This might mean making bottles out of something other than plastic. Second, we need to reuse. For example, when you get a plastic grocery bag (if you're not using a canvas one), then use it for other purposes instead of just tossing it. Finally, the remaining plastic that is used, should be recycled so that we don't need as much new plastic.
There seems to be too much of a reliance on Recycle and not enough on Reduce and Reuse.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.