What's Your Beverage Container Preference?

Glass, every time.

Fully recyclable, easy to sterilize, transparent to contents, non-toxic, non-leaching from the container, cheaply made from sand, and so much more.

Why would we ever use anything else.

Kind Regards....

I agree, but I have often wondered how the plastics and metals industries were ever able to sell the use of their products in this market to begin with. Obviously, customer convenience and also they must be cost effective. Certainly they are not the "green" solution..

As I recall the plastics industry did a lot of marketing touting the safety of plastic versus glass.

Glass thanks, SAB refills them 15 to 20 times and then recycles, but most important is the precious cargo it carry's.

Glass, if I have the choice, for all the reasons above and that glass bottles are better insulators than plastic or aluminum.

My preference is definitely glass from a taste and tactile point of view. However, I rather suspect from an economic point of view glass is the worst. In terms of beverage containers glass, plastic and aluminum are all 100% recyclable. Weight and packing factors favor the aluminum. Plastic does well on a weight and durability issue but doesn't crush nicely like aluminum. Plus plastic bottles may be re-capped to prevent spills or save for later. However, soda degrades the fastest in plastic bottles so don't store it long term. The heavier glass bottles (think bar bottles) can be cleaned and re-used but you have to handle a lot of heavy material and maintain the cleaning and sanitizing processes. It is given that re-usable beer bottles delivered, consumed, and returned at the same location makes these viable. Not so for retail sales.

This is an interesting history on beverage containers.

http://www.grrn.org/beverage/refillables/USrefill.html

There are cost analysis studies of beverage containers, but I'm afraid that author/sponsor bias may influence the results of studies. See this critique of the BEAR report.

http://www.container-recycling.org/assets/pdfs/reports/bear/2002-NorthbridgeCritique.pdf

The bottlers certainly know what the costs are, because their economic success is dependent on it, but they are not publishing their financial information for obvious reasons.

It's interesting to read all the analyses on Bottle Bills, in terms of economic issues, environmental issues, retail and distributor issues, but no where does it address the PAIN IN THE ASS it is for the consumer. I happily recycle about 75-80% of my waste stream because it is just part of the municipal waste pickup. No sorting of the cans, bottles, jars, and paper. Put it all into the big yellow container and it is efficiently sorted at a centralized facility. I absolutely despise bottle bills, because it taxes the consumer to sort, store, handle, and transport waste back to the retailer or a centralized collection facility. It sucks. It also provides a huge source of revenue for either the government or distributors, (depending on how the system is administered) that basically amounts to another tax on the people.

"If presented with a choice, would you drink from a glass bottle, metal can, or plastic container?"

My personal preference would be that same order - glass, aluminum, plastic. However, glass is almost totally unrecyclable here because there is no market for it. Not much market for plastic, either, and I don't understand why not. Too far to ship it, I suppose. We are a bit off the beaten path...

My preference is a pint glass filled with real ale, the publican reuses it as often as I ask him to.

Same here - and I always prefer the same glass for 3 reasons.

1. - altruistic - less glassware someone must wash.

2. - selfish - the glass is at least a little pre-chilled, which, unless the pub chills the glasses, is a plus.

3. - even moreso - I know whose lips last touched it. With a new glass, it's a whole new crapshoot.

Chilled beer? I can tell you're not British.

<laughs>

Glass is the only way to go.

Aluminum is lined with leechable BPA.

Plastic is OK or not , depending upon what

it is containing.

B.K.

Aluminum is easily stored for recycling.

a stainless steel mug at work because I get a discounted price for not using the papers cups, and glasses and mugs made from a see-through glass at home

Glass! Aluminum has a plastic sprayed in liner. Otherwise a coke would eat its way out in about 12 hrs. Stainless would be ok for most things, but high and low PH it still has a taste issue. Plastic has to much out gassing.

Brad

Glass is the best ... when I buy my coffee in the stainless steel mug I poor it into a glass one when I get to my desk otherwise I taste the aftertaste of the steel material ... apparently the paper cups contain also BPA, not safe by my account.

Screw green. Beer belongs in Glass bottles. Bottles with a proper crimped on crown not those damn screw on abominations.

Glass, stone, horn or bone in that order