Do you think that plastic is better to use than glass for bottles etc.?

Question

Do you think that plastic is better to use than glass for bottles etc.?

Answer 1

Well, the main argument I've heard in favour of plastic is that it's much lighter than glass and therefore keeps transportation costs and carbon emissions down. You could also argue that plastic is safer, as a plastic bottle is unlikely to smash when dropped.

However - in the UK, at least - it's often easier to recycle glass than plastic, as many councils don't provide adequate plastic recycling. If not recycled, plastic bottles take something like 450 years to break down. I believe glass is fairly easy and economic (much more so than plastic) to recycle from the point of view of the recycling plants, as its structure doesn't deteriorate when reprocessed, which means it can be recycled indefinitely.

Finally, plastic itself (the stuff used for drinks bottles, anyway) is derived from oil or other fossil fuels, which is a bit of an environmental headache. I'm sticking to glass for now!