New style plastic bottle tops - problems opening them

ThisIsWeird

KxMx said:

I've noticed recently they are coming with twist and click- twist to open, push down until you hear a click, then the cap doesn't get in the way while you drink. 

Haven't seen that yet, but sounds better.

diveunderthebonnet

My granddaughters used to open those flip top flavoured water bottles with their teeth ,used to beg them not to as they will end up damaging their teeth.

Ectophile

molerat said:

subjecttocontract said:

Why have they been changed ?
The normal screwed top worked ok.

They are now retained so they cannot be removed / lost / discarded and are recycled with the bottle.  Some are pretty much normal screw caps and not too bad.  The flip tops are awful, very hard to actually open and you have to hold the bottle very tightly meaning you squash it and end up with the contents over the floor / yourself.  Ocean Spray cartons are very difficult to grip, I suspect almost impossible to open for someone with limited dexterity. A lot seem to have been designed by someone who "solved the problem" without looking at the consequences and usability of that new design.

I agree about the Ocean Spray ones.  On their cartons. they use a little cap that is too small to grip.  And turning it cuts a hole in the plastic lining of the carton.  So it's not just unscrewing a cap any more.

tealady

Thanks everyone, some interesting insights there. Think will either have to forego an occasional lunchtime snack and / or change my evening refreshments.
Will look into a good quality bottle opener as well.

diveunderthebonnet

Ectophile said:

molerat said:

subjecttocontract said:

Why have they been changed ?
The normal screwed top worked ok.

They are now retained so they cannot be removed / lost / discarded and are recycled with the bottle.  Some are pretty much normal screw caps and not too bad.  The flip tops are awful, very hard to actually open and you have to hold the bottle very tightly meaning you squash it and end up with the contents over the floor / yourself.  Ocean Spray cartons are very difficult to grip, I suspect almost impossible to open for someone with limited dexterity. A lot seem to have been designed by someone who "solved the problem" without looking at the consequences and usability of that new design.

I agree about the Ocean Spray ones.  On their cartons. they use a little cap that is too small to grip.  And turning it cuts a hole in the plastic lining of the carton.  So it's not just unscrewing a cap any more.

Sainsburys use the same type of carton on there long life milk ,can be a pain to open and last month when we did manage to undo the cap it did not cut the plastic lining ,rang their customer services number but was a waste of time as the person who answered could not comprehend the problem ,i said sorry and put the phone down

JohnB47

I too have found twist tops difficult to open recently - no idea if this is to do with the new 'keep the cap connected' idea. I just resort to wrapping a tea towel around the cap before twisting - it gives a gearing effect to the operation and makes it easier. (Turning a big cap is easier than turning a small cap round - so find a way to make the small cap temporarily bigger).

I often twist the whole cap off because it's just a faff when reopening. But then I do remember to recap afterwards.

subjecttocontract

If they introduce bottles with caps that are so difficult/ impossible to remove or use......I'm bloody minded enough to make sure I cut them off and discard them before putting into recycling.

SadieO

subjecttocontract said:

If they introduce bottles with caps that are so difficult/ impossible to remove or use......I'm bloody minded enough to make sure I cut them off and discard them before putting into recycling.

I've read that the issue is people chucking the caps loose into the recycling, because they are too small for the machines to process (can't remember if it's machines that sort them, or ones that actually break down the material for recycling) and they get stuck in mechanisms etc. So the lids are now attached to the bottles to prevent that happening. Cutting the lid off and chucking it in the bin would therefore also be fine to do, and not bloody minded at all!

(Of course it would mean less plastic being recycled, but I think such a small amount as a bottle cap would be preferable to messing up machines that are presumably large and expensive, and therefore jeopardising large amounts of recycling!)

Section62

SadieO said:

subjecttocontract said:

If they introduce bottles with caps that are so difficult/ impossible to remove or use......I'm bloody minded enough to make sure I cut them off and discard them before putting into recycling.

I've read that the issue is people chucking the caps loose into the recycling, because they are too small for the machines to process (can't remember if it's machines that sort them, or ones that actually break down the material for recycling) and they get stuck in mechanisms etc. So the lids are now attached to the bottles to prevent that happening. Cutting the lid off and chucking it in the bin would therefore also be fine to do, and not bloody minded at all!

(Of course it would mean less plastic being recycled, but I think such a small amount as a bottle cap would be preferable to messing up machines that are presumably large and expensive, and therefore jeopardising large amounts of recycling!)

The main reason is the recyclables go through screening (like a big sieve) to remove stuff like stones and dirt which has got into the stream.  The hole size in the screens is big enough that loose bottle tops will go through. (the screen size is typically about the size of a golf ball).

The material which falls through the screens goes to landfill (or incineration).  So the theory was that having loose bottle tops meant less plastic was being recycled than could be if the tops are tethered to the bottle.

Of course the material falling through the screens could be further processed to remove recyclables... but much easier to impose a badly thought-out solution on the public and make it their problem to deal with.

Slinky

My kefir bottles the ties make it difficult to get the top back on square to screw the lid back on, so I break it off. I'm responsible enough to ensure it's screwed back on properly once washed out to be recycled.