The environmentalist inside you must have already answered it. It's because glass is less harmful to the earth than plastic. Isn't it? Plastic ruins the healthy state of the environment. But people often tend to prefer things that are cheaper and easier to handle. No doubt, why the production of plastic keeps increasing every year.
There is a production of more than 380 million tonnes of plastic every year, and they all end up as pollutants, rolling here and there. But thanks to the strict laws enforced by the government that halted the ever-increasing production of plastic. People now have to opt for the other options.
One of those options is glass. In this article, we will see why glass is preferred, can be preferred, and will be preferred over plastic.
We will see the pros and cons of glass and brief detail on it.
Why Not Plastic Bottles?
The first and the foremost answer is the major polluting agent. We have read and heard of the active involvement of plastic in many types of pollution. If that doesn't give the red flag then its other grave effects will.
Plastic is made from various chemicals which also include endocrine agitating chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalate that damages the brain, reproductive system, and hormone system.
Have you ever engulfed a piece of plastic? Well even if you've, in most cases it comes out with feces. But if it gets stuck, or there's an intake of plastic often which includes also the food you eat that comes inside the plastic containers, then it can cause severe health issues like cancer, asthma, premature births, male sterility, severe indigestion, food poisoning, etc. The problems which do not seem like a big deal feel very much scary in old age.
Since plastic isn't a biodegradable substance, it's not easy to get rid of it. If you burn it, it causes air pollution. Other effects are obvious and can be observed while traveling. Pollution of tourist places with plastic containers, deaths of animals due to plastic intake, clogging of drains, and so on.
Why Glass Bottles Over Plastic bottles?
When it comes to the replacement of plastic, glass is one of the best options. The Glass is the Best Option because of various reasons. Here's why-
- Glass isn't made from such endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so they do not leak into your food and beverages keeping them hygienic and pure.
- Glass doesn't hold the smell of the previous food, making it a better option to store food and save the purity of taste. The reason why you find wine and spirits inside glass bottles.
- Glass can tolerate heat better than plastic, making it safer to use in microwaves than plastic.
- Easy to wash and clean. So they are often used as refillable glass jars.
- Glass is recycled more than plastic.
- The use of glass makes people cautious since glass is fragile. You can't find glass rolling on the roads as often you find plastics.
- It has been reported, production and shopping charges of glass are lesser than that of plastic.
- Glass is non-toxic, making it safer for your health.
- These days mothers prefer glass milk bottles to feed their babies since it's safer and toxins-free.
The above pros and a long list of many unincluded ones give a view of why glass bottles are preferred and should be preferred more.
Cons of Glass bottles
There has been no such thing or item in this whole world that is perfect in its own being. Even if Glass Bottles are considered the best options in replacement for Plastics, the former also has some disadvantages. Let's delve into the aspects of limitations of Glass Bottles:-
- The heaviness of glass brings it a step back. While transporting the packaged goods, a greater number of trips are required which results in a greater cost.
- Glass is easily corroded by alkalis in solution.
- The brittleness of glass enhances the cost of security as it can easily break into pieces by a small load.
- The capability to trap the sun's heat warms the interior of a building. It will be added to the cost of air conditioning to maintain the temperature.
- From an economic point of view, recycling glass is costlier than plastic since the melting point of the glass is more than that of plastic.
- When a glass bottle or any glass-made item falls then it breaks into shards which can injure people if touched without caution.
Nothing is perfect. However, what makes them better is when their pros win over their cons. With the evolving world, and brains with innovative ideas, the solutions to these problems aren't a far cry.
In the present advanced times, many industries are providing a protective layer of silicon to the glass to prevent it from cracking or getting broken. There's also the innovation of glass which doesn't break into shards rather it breaks and crumbles into small chunks.
Conclusion
There are many custom glass makers these days to customize glass bottles and other glass-made objects. And we can't forget to include the creative and aesthetic aspects of glass bottles. From exhibitions to art galleries you can find how glass objects, especially glass bottles, are used to enhance the beauty of their artworks which are made by cutting glass bottles with a Dremel.
We live in a modern era, a world where both glass and plastics have their own sets of pros and cons but we are sure that regardless of what cons the former has, it should be preferred over the latter considering how destructive plastics can be.
Of course, glass has its drawback, that is, it is quite breakable and is twice as heavy as plastic but at the same time, it can be reused several times more than plastic. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about the toxic chemicals used from a petroleum-derived product.
Glass is simply brawnier and survives the best against time. Glass alternatives are available for almost all home items. One certain thing; the environment will be saved if we opt for glass-made objects. Therefore for a better future, opt for glass bottles and save the environment.