This is neither a new subject nor an unfamiliar one. We all recognise by now the damage plastic bottles do to the environment.
But did you know that PET is 100% recyclable, and that measured against the alternatives its environmental impact is low?
In this article I want to pull the subject apart and help you understand why plastic carries such a negative charge whenever sustainability comes up.
PET plastic: what is it?
PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a material developed in 1941 by John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson, two British chemists.
It is a thermoplastic used to make packaging, mostly plastic bottles for soft drinks, water and juice.
When it arrived, PET was a dream come true. Carrying a PET bottle was far more practical and convenient than carrying a glass one, being much lighter and much harder to break. On top of that, this kind of plastic brought economic advantages for producers: unlike other plastics it is 100% recyclable, so it can be put back to use for other purposes.
The weight difference between a PET bottle and a glass one also has a strong effect on production and distribution. Producing a PET bottle takes very little material to hold a large amount of product, whereas a glass bottle needs far more raw material to hold the same. As for distribution, less material means lighter bottles, so more of them travel at once and fewer greenhouse gases are emitted.
Put together (the practicality, being 100% recyclable, and needing less raw material), this kind of bottle offers producers a very favourable cost-benefit balance.
The environmental impact of PET bottles
Being 100% recyclable does not stop PET bottles from being plastic, and so they still have an ecological footprint. As does any other product; that is simply a fact.
Unfortunately, as PET bottles were taken up more widely, the number thrown away, the waste generated and the oil extracted to meet that demand all rose sharply, leading to excessive production and consumption, and with it more waste.
The central problem is how these bottles are disposed of. Thrown away wrongly, they accumulate on land, in rivers, in drains, in the sea and in forests.
Recyclable though it is, PET can take up to 800 years to break down, which is exactly why recycling it properly matters so much.
Sometimes, faced with the sheer volume of accumulated bottles, people are tempted to burn them. That is a bad idea: the material is highly flammable and releases toxins and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, feeding air pollution and, in turn, the greenhouse effect.
In its article on the subject, eCycle states that according to the United Nations Environment Programme, 90% of all ocean waste is plastic. There are also 46,000 fragments of plastic in every 2.5 km2 of those waters. Other studies have found that for every kilo of seaweed and plankton in the oceans, there are at least 6 kg of plastic.
Microplastics are another large problem arising from plastic at sea. They are particles that absorb toxic chemical compounds such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). You can read more about those here.
When a microplastic is swallowed by a marine animal it can kill it: by suffocation, since animals can choke on floating waste; by poisoning, since POPs are not meant to be ingested; or by malnutrition, since an animal that mistakes plastic for food feels a false fullness that leaves it with a stomach full of plastic and unable to eat anything else.
Worse, POPs are bioaccumulative, which means whatever eats the poisoned animal ends up with the same problem.
eCycle reports that people who eat seafood regularly ingest around 11,000 pieces of microplastic a year.
To reduce marine pollution and the damage PET bottles do, recycling and processing the material properly is essential:
- the cap, the seal and the label come off (they are usually made from a different plastic, polypropylene);
- the bottles are crushed and sent to companies that cut and grind the plastic;
- all impurities are removed;
- the plastic is reused for new purposes, new bottles, carpets, shirts, cleaning cloths, among others.
Water bottle options for personal use
Glass bottles
Glass is an excellent material for keeping liquids, and it is 100% recyclable.
It is a viable alternative to plastic, though as noted above it takes more resources to produce, and it brings disadvantages of its own. It needs more care in transport, since it breaks more easily.
Even so, it is the best option for keeping water at home and out of it. Why? The raw material is pure and releases nothing that could change the characteristics of what is stored in it. The other great advantage is that it can be used countless times (until it breaks, of course), which reduces its environmental impact.
Aluminium bottles
On recycling, aluminium has a high recycling rate, which is an advantage over plastic. Buying a recycled aluminium bottle already spares the environment something: 1 kg of recycled aluminium avoids extracting 5 kg of bauxite, the ore aluminium comes from.
Like plastic and unlike glass, it is very light, which makes it efficient day to day. It combines the lightness of plastic with the many uses glass allows.
It has its downsides. It is not especially tough and dents easily, and some aluminium bottles and other items carry an internal lining that may contain bisphenol A (BPA), which can be quite harmful. If you want to read more about that compound, there is this article from Tua Saúde. So my advice is to check what these items are made of before buying.
Stainless steel bottles
Stainless steel has the most going for it, being considered the most recyclable material in the world. Beyond being 100% reusable, it combines several of the advantages of the options above.
As with glass, there is no risk of chemical contamination, and it can go in the dishwasher. There are usually insulated versions too, which unlike the others are excellent at holding a temperature and can be carried without burning your hands.
It is a metal, though, and like aluminium it can be damaged by a fall.
In short: every material has some impact on the environment, but it is possible to choose the one with the least, across production, use and upkeep.
Let me leave you with two reminders. The best option is always the one you already have at home, and plastic is not always the enemy. So work out which of these four materials suits your needs, and above all which of them will last you longest.
Changing the way we consume matters, if we want to look after the planet. If this article helped you make a more conscious choice, share it with someone who needs to know it too.
