Glass re-emerges on environmental concerns created by plastic, metals

Specials  |  2012-06-22 00:44:57   |   By

The environmental concerns of the world we are living in have determined the replacement of glass with other recyclable materials.Glass is on its come back throwing away plastic and metal.

NEW YORK (SCRAP MONSTER): The environmental concerns of the world we are living in have determined the replacement of glass with other recyclable materials.Glass is on its come back throwing away plastic and metal.

The process of replacing plastic and metal by glass which began taking off a couple of years ago, is becoming a big business.

The chemicals used in packaging can leach into the products they eat and drink have made the customers shift to glass. Moreover this concern is driving more and more beverage makers and food producers to use glass containers. “They’re looking for sustainable products to be ecologically responsible” said Lynn Bragg, president of the Glass Packaging Institute, an industry association.

The most relevant case is the replacement of glass bottles with plastic pets is that they have the advantage of being a lot lighter, easier to manufacture and to recycle. Even though little by little the use of glass bottles has entered a descending path.

Not only bottles a variety of products are available including reusable Ziploc containers called VersaGlass that can be used in a microwave, a freezer and, without their lids, even in an oven up to 400 degrees. These type of innovations in glass are very helpful to make it so common in use.

“I’d say glass bottles account for 20 percent, 30 percent of water bottle sales on our site now,” said Vincent Cobb, founder of reuseit.com, which sells a variety of reusable products. “More and more people are looking for glass.”

The biggest consumer concern has been bisphenol A, or BPA, an estrogen-mimicking industrial chemical used in some plastics and in the protective coatings that line the inside of some metallic food and beverage containers. Concerns about the chemical have prompted some metal container companies to stop using it. BPA cannot be removed from plastic.

The advantage of glass bottles over the plastic ones is the quality of the material. Despite the long-use tradition, glass has the purity of structure that makes any interaction with the stored liquid impossible. Plastic on the other hand is known to alter the properties of certain beverages because of the chemical reactions that appear in time between the artificial structure and the possible acids in the beverage.

A glass bottle is 100% recyclable which contribute to the conservation of the environment as it reduces waste materials. Used containers can either be recycled or reused. Most of the companies collect these used materials so that it can be refilled.

Despite from plastic and metal glass has advantages of its own. If used accordingly it can substitute almost all the uses plastic and metal in different sectors.

(With inputs from New York Times)