Why dont manufacturers bring back glass bottles?

dandy-candy

Just seen the plastics being sent back from indonesia and i cant help wondering why we dont go back to glass bottles? Milk, ribena, cresta and corona - we didnt drink tons of fizzy stuff as it was heavy to carry more than one bottle home. Might make us healthier too!
Glass can be recycled in this country, and if they do the deposit on returns again people will make an effort. Why isnt it happening?

ivyleaf

I understand that glass is very expensive to recycle and can only be re-used a limited number of times

Edit: Our council does send it for recycling though. After years of telling us we must put glass in one recycling bin and plastics in another, they've now told us to put both in the same bin. About time, as the bin men have always put both in the same part of the truck anyway!

YorksLass

Our local council does recycle glass bottles and jars but we can't put it in the recycling bin! Instead we are asked to take it to a local bottle bank. We have two near to us but unfortunately not on a route we'd normally go on (no car so have to walk there which may be good health-wise but not particularly convenient).

On the plus side, if Indonesia and other countries continue to return waste to the originating country then manufacturers may have to think again about how they package things. Or am I living in hope?

Brambling

I think we must be lucky as our local council will take glass bottles and jars in with our recycling bin. Listening to the local radio recently I understand that what cannot be recycled for other things is made into sand for building work

theoretica

Scotland is introducing a 20p deposit on glass and plastic bottles and cans.

Jellytotts

I think the logic is that glass is heavier to transport with more breakages so the cost to ship the stuff around rises as does the carbon footprint.

But when you look at all these tons of plastic being sent half way round the world and then back again you've got to wonder what the carbon footprint is there.

All single use plastics should be banned within the food industry as far as I'm concerned. No one needs to drink fizzy/energy/sugar laden carp. We don't need ready meals in several layers of plastic, meat in sealed trays etc.

Prinzessilein

I fail to see why the UK can't do recycling of water/pop et.c bottles in the store where you bought them...using a deposit scheme...they have excellent ones in Germany!

I also remember deposits on pop bottles in the UK when I was young...We could eke out our meagre pocket money by collecting bottles.

Plus of course there was the 'Pop Man' his van came round and for every 6 empty bottles you got a free one.

Milkman would collect the empty milk bottles.

There are plenty of options...if the UK would get of their a**e and embrace the idea of recycling! The town I live in can't even agree on 'simple' household recycling..no coherent policy at all.

Mistral001

I was in Germany recently where the local supermarket had a machine where you inserted the bottles one-by-one and when you were finished you got a voucher for spending in the supermarket. You got more for some bottles than others. From memory you got the equivalent of 5p to 10p for each bottle.

PS. Sorry it seems my post is basically the same as the one above.

lindens

There are many reasons why glass isnt better for the environment.

We need sand to make glass - specific sand. We are running out and use it faster than it is available. A lot of the furnaces used to create glass also run on fossil fuels, thus creating a lot of pollution.

It breaks and is a lot heavier to transport around. Think of the milkman - not that there are many left but for those that do exist they deliver mainly plastic bottles and can carry a lot more.

A glass bottle factory is a noisy environment to work in - whether its making the bottles or the bottling of the product. H&S has come a long way since glass bottles were the norm. However the manufacturing of glass bottles has too and i think they contain less glass these days.

pollyanna_26

My local council are very good with doorstep recycling and were very early to implement it. Paper ,card and glass go in one big bin. I was a member of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace way back in 80s.


Since I was born it's been doorstep milk in glass bottles. I remember lemonade with those attached tops in childhood. I buy Fentimans Ginger beer and Dandelion and Burdock in glass and recycle pasta sauce and preserve jars. I'm lucky my milk arrives on the doorstep from the local dairy farm which was started in 1939 and still going strong with the latest generation.


I make the majority of my cleaning products so no plastic sprays etc. I know Mrs Hinch is popular at the moment but she uses some awful products and a lot of plastic.
I never buy bleach but use baking soda and white vinegar.


I believe if more people used terry nappies there'd be a lot less in landfill. There's a young family up the lane with two large general waste bins. just a baby and a toddler but both bins full to the brim so the lid doesn't lie flat.
polly.


ETA Forgot to mention cans also go in recycling bin.

Rosco62

ivyleaf wrote: »

I understand that glass is very expensive to recycle and can only be re-used a limited number of times

Edit: Our council does send it for recycling though. After years of telling us we must put glass in one recycling bin and plastics in another, they've now told us to put both in the same bin. About time, as the bin men have always put both in the same part of the truck anyway!

So surely the way to go is make all soft drinks in cans