Pros and Cons of Glass, Plastic and Aluminum.

Plastisc

Let’s face it, our lives are busy and we don’t have time to stand in the store contemplating every option they sell. So let’s take a min to sit down right now and understand the basic pros and cons of each type of container material.

We will go over plastic, glass and aluminum. I hope this list helps you think about and decided which material you prefer before running into the store in a rush. That way you already know what to grab and can feel good about your purchases. This is one step towards becoming a conscious consumer.

There will not be one obvious perfect choice. They all have pros and cons and you will have to decided what is more important to you. Do you care about the amount of transportation emissions, the recyclability or cost? Those are a few facts we will compare.

Plastic :

Plastic became a widely consumed material in the 1960’s when companies switched from glass to plastic. This switch perpetuated the idea of single use and connivance.

There are 7 different types of plastic that are produced from fossil fuels. However, not all plastic is made equal. Each type of plastic is slightly different and therefor not all are recyclable. This complication comes with the fact that each cities facility has different abilities of what types can be recycled making it difficult to educate on the topic of plastic recyclability.

Pros :

• Lightweight which means lower transportation emissions
• Cheap for companies to produce

Cons :

• Complicated chemistry so not all plastics are recyclable
• Can only be recycled 2-3 times
• Uses fossil fuels to be made
• High energy-intensive material to produce
• Only 9% of all plastics are being recycled in the U.S.

---

Glass :

Glass is made out of sand, soda ash and limestone. Glass can easily be re-shaped when heated at high temperatures and cooled quickly making it very versatile.

Glass does not loose any chemical integrity when recycled meaning it can infinitely be recycled and continuously be used. Unfortunately, only 31% of all glass gets recycled in the U.S. (according to the EPA) but that is a larger percentage than plastic.

Pros :

• Can be recycled an infinate amount of times meaning it never has to end up in the landfill
• Easy to reuse in the household and sanataize

Cons :

• Heavy to ship leading to higher transportation emissions
• Higher cost to produce
• Easily breakable

Aluminum :

Aluminum is one of the most abundant materials and has been commercially manufactured for over 100 years making it relatively new compared to other metals.

According to the EPA, recycling aluminum requires only five percent of the total energy than extracting it requires. Compared to the 9% recycle rate of plastic, aluminum is recycled at 35%. The majority of those recycled are aluminum bottles.

Pros :

• Can be recycled an infinate amount of times meaning it never has to end up in the landfill
• Easy to reuse aluminum jars
• Lightweight which means a lower transportation footprint

Cons :

• Requires a thin plastic linner depending on contaminants

Now that you have a high level of each material which one are you leaning towards when shopping? Leave a comment explaining what aspect was more important to you in your choice.

RELATED POSTS

---