Years ago, Big Beverage companies started forcing consumers to buy drinks in disposable plastic bottles, instead of more eco-friendly reusable glass bottles that had been used for decades. By forcing people to buy disposable, single-use plastic bottles, these companies squander huge amounts of energy when the climate is already struggling from growing carbon emissions. And it will mean more waste when our oceans are already filled with trash!
Remember when all soft drinks came in glass bottles? Look at an old soda bottle, it is made of a much thicker glass than the plastic versions. This is because they were made to be returned to the bottling company, sterilized, and sent back out to the stores freshly refilled. Recycling means the bottle is crushed and completely reformed (using way more energy). By returning our empties it made the cost of the soft drinks much cheaper because we were paying only for the beverage inside and not the packaging. Some say, “Glass is dangerous, it can break and people get hurt!” I disagree, just think of how many people today drink their beer out of glass bottles and live to tell about it.
Soft drink companies will tell you they stopped using glass because of “consumer preferences”… but they lied. We all complained of the cost increase when the glass bottles were replaced with plastic and cans. It did save the bottling companies money because the cans and plastic bottles were cheaper to manufacture and ship, but it didn’t benefit us like they said it would. The result has been more expensive beverages!
We the consumers could control this and change it very easily … But we would have to stop buying beverages in disposable plastic bottles! I stopped doing that two years ago and I am just fine.
Susan Martin
Everett
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