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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...
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!
I work at an award-winning landfill. My county encourages recycling and makes it easy to do. That said, plastic water bottles...heck, plastic bottles of any kind are the third worst pollutant, in my opinion. The blow around and last practically forever. The second worst is Styrofoam. You have no idea. At least it eventually disintegrates into tiny little beads, not that those are great but at least they can't be seen. The worst is plastic bags/plastic wraps of all sorts but especially plastic shopping bags. These things blow everywhere eventually become brittle from UV exposure but never truly deteriorate. Solutions? Huge deposit fees, like half the cost of the product. Two dollars for a bottle of water? Make that three but you get a dollar back when you return the bottle. Plastic bags? Similar concept. Dollar a bag, for example, refundable upon return of the bag. Styrofoam? Cellulose packing peanuts that dissolve in water already exist. Let's ramp up that technology and eliminate Styrofoam.