A newly released concludes that PET plastic bottles offer a better environmental footprint than aluminium cans or glass bottles. Source PET Resin Association
06/28/2010
A newly released life-cycle inventory of single-serving soda containers concludes that PET plastic bottles offer a better environmental footprint than aluminium cans or glass bottles by using less energy, generating less solid waste, and creating significantly fewer greenhouse gases.
The cradle-to-grave study, conducted by Franklin Associates for the PET Resin Association (PETRA), compared total energy, solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions per 100,000 ounces of soft drinks packaged in typical 20-oz PET bottles, 8-oz glass bottles, or 12-oz aluminium cans. The PET bottles showed appreciably lower numbers across the board.
Most notable were the lower greenhouse gas emissions for the PET bottles, which registered 59% less than aluminium and 77% less than glass. Franklin calculated the greenhouse gas emissions for the PET bottles at 1,125 lbs of carbon dioxide equivalents, compared to 2,766 lbs for aluminium and 4,949 lbs for glass.
Energy use for the PET bottles totalled 11.0 million BTU per 100,000 ounces of soft drink, compared to 16.0 million BTU for aluminium and 26.6 million BTU for glass.
Solid wastes for the PET bottles totalled 302 lbs, versus 767 lbs for aluminium, and 4,457 lbs for glass. |