Plastic bottles vs. aluminum cans - which is better for the environment considering the following variables:?

Question

So I drink a lot of Diet Coke and want to know what is the best for the environment. I DO recycle all my containers... And I'm NOT going to quit drinking it, I've cut back as much as I'm willing.

So would it be better to buy it in 2L bottles or cans? I'm not talking price, just environment. I guess a 2L holds a touch more than five cans. If I'm recycling both, which is better for the earth?

Which is better for the earth in terms of the production process?

How about in the recycling process? Is recycling one better for the earth than the other?

Finally, would the answer change any for someone who didn't recycle?

Answer 1

I agree that glass is best but since our choices now seem to be plastic or aluminum, I say aluminum since the more studies being done are showing that eating/drinking out of plastic is potentially harmful.

http://www.cure-Guide.com/Natural_Health...

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Monomer...

http://www.reusablebags.com/news.php?id=...

Answer 2

Neither --- Glass bottles are the best and easiest to recycle. Bottles only need to be washed and reused, something that was common practice by coke, 7 up, etc.. Just 30 years ago.

plastic bottles and aluminum cans use petroleum and dwindling metals where as bottles are made from sand. Also plastic and aluminum seep toxins into our bodies and the ground environment. Plus our oceans are now cluttered with plastic bottles. Mike -- Ecopsychologist

Answer 3

a tin can is better than a plastic bottle. Though both of them are non-biodegradable which can not save the environment in terms of recycling it has a lot more difference. Think of what can you do or what things can you make out of a plastic bottle to recycle it, only re-use it right and also you can not melt plastics or burn because it's toxic. But do you know that there are wheel chairs that are made out of recycled tin cans?...With this, tin can vs. plastic bottle it is better to buy sodas in can.

Answer 4

The truth is, there is no clear answer to your question.  Resource extraction, production, and recycling are excpetionally complex and variable industrial processes, so asking if plastic grocery bags are better than paper, or, if aluminum cans are better than plastic 2L bottles, is like asking if maple trees are better than evergreens or Crest is better than Colgate.  Live with the fact that neither one of your options is great, and neither is clearly better than the other, so don't lose any sleep over it.

Answer 5

The cans are better . When people throw their trsh out their car windows the  plastic bottles last years longer than the cans.

I live along a US hyway in a  very rural area  and  have 1st hand info about this.

Answer 6

The cans are very easy to recycle.  Almost everywhere does this.  The plastics however are for the most part sold off to china, where they are melted down and truned into new parts.  So the cans in my view would be cause the are reused right here, meaing you don't haft to send them half way around the world to do any good.