Disposable Plastic Bottles and Cups
Disposable Plastic bottles and many disposable plastic cups are made from a petroleum based product called polyethylene terephthalate. These bottle and or cups require massive amounts of fossil fuels to be used just to make and transport them. 25 percent of a plastic bottle filled with oil is how much oil that was used just to make that bottle that's one bottle of oil used for every four bottles made (Institute, 2007)! And then you have to take into consideration the gas being used and burned for transporting these bottles to their desired locations for a single use bottle or cup that is a lot of oil and fossil fuels being used for little reward. These bottles many times are not recycled which leads to these plastics sitting in landfills for many years until there degrade. Along with this process of making the bottles comes the amount of water used to make the plastics and to purify the water being put into these bottles. For every gallon of purified water put into these bottles it is taking two gallons of water to purify that one. For personal health it is recommended to drink tap out of reusable water bottles compared to these disposable bottles due to the regulations regarding bottled water since contamination of bottled water doesn't have to immediately have to be told to the consumer but the contamination of tap water does (Lights, 2012). Now for the disposable cup side of things. Everyone has heard of the red solo cup or knows what they look like, but what many don't know is that everytime you throw that party cup into the trash and it makes its way to the landfill it is estimated to take these cups 450 years to fully decompose back into the earth. These cups take so long to breakdown due to the durable plastic that they are made with. It is also very discouraged to burn these cups because the plastics they are made of if burned give off toxic fumes that can harm human health. All in all your best choice is to ditch using either of these items unless completely necessary and switched to a reusable bottle such as a nalgene bottle. By doing this you are helping the planet and saving your hard earned money (mwa, 2012).
Ceramic Mugs
Mechanically made ceramic mugs are the ones used most throughout the U.S. many people may just know them as coffee mugs. These mugs are not particularly bad for the environment due to the new cups that have been becoming more popular such as the yeti mug ceramic mugs have been losing business but remain more of an environmentally friendly mug then a yeti would. These mugs will breakdown easier and quicker than many of your drink ware you may use. This is due to them being made of clay and not a plastic which takes a longer time to break down.Ceramic mugs have downfalls compared to the new mugs coming into the market such as the yeti, they are not good for transporting your drink and are also not very durable to falls and other things. The process to make these mugs is quite simple all that is really needed is the clay and molds to form the clay with after the clay has hardened to the shape of the mold the clay is then heated to a desired temperature depending on the clay used for the certain mug after this step the mug is glazed and heat treated again. Usually after these steps you have a nice ceramic mug but these mugs do not have the durability of aluminum mugs made today. Ceramic mugs do offer a minimal environmental impact compared to plastic bottles or aluminum bottles (Mugs, 2015).
Drinkware
Nalgene Bottles
A Nalgene bottle is made up of BPA free plastic pellets they are stored in big silos the silos filter in the small plastic pellets to factory where they are then mixed with 20 kg of colored pellets to help achieve the bottle is desired color. The plastic pellets are then melted and sent into the injection molding machine after sent here the plastic is molded around A metal core scores are then injected with 150 psi to help expand the plastics which then formed the shape of the Nalgene bottle. The lids and straps for Nalgene bottles are also made from the small plastic pellets. The lids and straps also go into a plastic molding machine which will get them to their desired shape. Nalgene bottles are praised for their durability for a plastic bottle and there long life, they are easy to clean and will last a very long time (Doss, 2016). These are one of the best solutions for a reusable bottle you will be able to find they can hold more than an everyday disposable bottle could and there is less chance for the bottle to break or crack compared to a disposable one. Nalgene bottles are FDA compiler and contain no BPA as stated earlier which is a plus for any Nalgene user. Yes a Nalgene bottles is going to take more plastic to make them your everyday disposable bottle would but the amount of disposable bottles you would use compared to the one Nalgene you could use will make up for the difference easily. These bottles cannot be recycled because they are made of poly carbonate plastic, but there are many uses for an old bottle you don’t use anymore such as waterproof first aid kits or storing important documents; some people even use them as weights and fill them with sand (Allie, 2008).
Aluminum Bottles
Creating an aluminum bottle is not so much of an environmental impact as it is a health risk many people have switched from aluminum bottles to stainless steel bottles. Aluminum bottles look like stainless steel, but they are very different. Aluminum is reactive with acidic liquids so aluminum bottles have to be lined with an enamel or epoxy that can wear away over time, and BPA is often a main ingredient used in epoxy. Like stainless steel, aluminum will also dent if you drop it, and it is not dishwasher safe. Aluminum bottles can be a pain to wash since they are not dishwasher safe along with not being safe for human use unless having an interior lining within the bottle. Your best choice is to switch to a reusable bottle that is BPA free such as a Nalgene water bottle they are very durable and will not dent like an aluminum bottle will and are also safer to drink from. Aluminum Bottles are not very popular among this list or reusable drink ware many people stick with the disposable bottles for being convenient or the Nalgene bottles in today's use (Mellencamp, 2015).
Glass Bottles
Soda-lime glass stock accounts for the majority (about 90 percent) of glass products, and is typically largely comprised of silica, with about 10 percent each of calcium oxide and lime. Small amounts of aluminum oxide, ferric oxide, barium oxide, sulfur trioxide, and magnesia also account for about 5 percent of soda-lime glass. Before melting, recycled glass is added to the stock, accounting for anywhere between 15 and 50 percent of the final glass composition. After the glass is heated comes the next step which is the blow and blow step. This step takes place in a machine called the IS machine where the gob of glass is blown into the mold of the desired shape. It then switches molds and is blown again to form the interior part of the glass container. Next if desired is the internal treatment stage for the glass bottle. This involves treating the bottle with a gas mixture of fluorocarbon, this can also be done to the exterior of the glass to strengthen the surface. (Hansen 2015) Glass is a good source for a reusable drink ware but also can fall under restrictions such as if it is dropped it will be more susceptible to breaking along with chipping. Another downfall to glass bottles is the time it takes to break down into the earth glass is estimated to take hundreds of year to fully break down back into the earth. (Thomasnet 2017)
References
Aluminum Beverage Can. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Aluminum-Beverage-Can.html
Doss, J. (2017, April 18). How Nalgene Bottles are Made — PrintGlobe Blog. Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.printglobe.com/blog/2016/01/08/how-nalgene-bottles-are-made/
Hansen, R. (n.d.). Glass Jars and Bottles: How are they made? Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.containerandpackaging.com/blog/2015/06/glass-jars-and-bottles-how-are-they-made/
How Glass Bottles Are Made. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/materials-handling/glass-bottles-made/
Institute, P. (2007, February). Bottled Water and Energy Fact Sheet. Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://pacinst.org/publication/bottled-water-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/
Mellencamp, D. (2015, September 14).Bottling your own water. Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.aquasana.com/education/bottle-battle
Planet Mugs. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.planetmugs.com.au/how_are_ceramic_mugs_made
The Greenists. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://thegreenists.com/dear-allie/tip-of-the-day-repurpose-your-old-nalgene-bottle/1698
The Truth about Red Solo Cups. (2012, September 2). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.mwatoday.com/news/green-tips/red-solo-cups.aspx
Lights, Z. (2012, May 8). Whats the Problem with Plastic Bottles? (2016, January 31). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/whats-the-problem-with-plastic-bottles/
What We Use
We feel as those a Nalgene bottle is the greenest option. Due to its durability and long life, the bottle has a low environmental impact (Doss, 2016).