Glass is an interesting thing, especially for the eco-minded — those who are health-obsessed or who avoid plastic like the plague tend to love it because it’s reusable, recyclable and doesn’t leach any toxic chemicals.
But on the other hand, manufacturing glass is hardly easy on the environment; this site provides a fairly comprehensive overview of what’s involved in each production stage — as it points out, carbon dioxide emissions related to glass manufacturing in the UK and Ireland amounted to 4.2 million tonnes in 2005 (that’s not including the 3 million tonnes of electricity required). And recycling is limited to both the quantity and quality of glass available; and correct me if I’m wrong, but coloured glass presents more of a problem than clear glass.
Some glass manufacturing companies have taken steps to incorporate certain levels of recycled material into their final product, like Consumers Glass, for example (although their website is written in Comic Sans, which is never to be trusted, if you ask me).
Either way, in the end, I think it comes back to the first and most important step in the waste hierarchy: Reduce. So from now on, I’m going to try to avoid buying any new glass, or at least glass that isn’t recycled. As well, if I’m at the liquor store and deciding between a few different bottles of Ontario vino, I’m going to opt for the one that’s in a clear bottle and make sure I rinse it well before “Bagging it Back.”
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P.S. Valentine’s Day is soon approaching, and while Yours Truly will of course be spending it alone with a bottle of local plonk and a generous portion of cynicism, those looking to green their lovey dovey ways might want to read this here Washington Post story (Green as a Thistle was consulted for it, which makes it extra cool).
Image courtesy of this nifty, but kinda pricey, shopping website
i agree with the statement that websites in comic sans cannot be trusted. sorry that i don’t have a more significant comment.
i, too, hate comic sans.
not only can a website not be trusted, but i question the judgement of any adult using comic sans.
i’m judgemental, what can i say?
I actually wrote a whole story once about this website:
http://bancomicsans.com/
Totally rocks.
hahahaha, comic sans… so true!! so unprofessional
OMG! I think the head banner on my site is in comic sans. Does that count? I would never, ever, ever use it for body text or headers. Now I need to go hide under the covers and mope, thinking that all ya’lls just come by Fake Plastic Fish to point and laugh.
But seriously, no packaging is always better than the most environmentally-friendly packaging. I totally agree. The thing about wine and many other liquid substances is that they need to be in dark glass to protect them from the effects of sunlight. Oils especially need to be in dark glass. I actually didn’t know you could buy wine in clear glass.
Haha, don’t worry Beth — Comic Sans for a banner is fine (just don’t push your luck!). And yeah, I’m speaking only about white wine, of course. Not sure why it matters for red and not white, but there you go. What about Olive oil, though? I always see that in a clear jar.
You wrote: “Valentine’s Day is soon approaching, and while Yours Truly will of course be spending it alone with a bottle of local plonk and a generous portion of cynicism”.
You’re kidding. Comic, sans?
Why not TetraPaks? Kind of cuts you off at more or less sub-plonk, but there’s very drinkable sub-plonk on the market (Niagara, too) unless you’re inviting an editor – then it has to be glass and non-local. TetraPaks are all fully recyclable, too, apart from the plastic spout. And I like them because they’re much lighter to carry!
I stand corrected on editors and French wines. Surely even the most conservative of editors at the “Post” would love to be offered a nice Merlot-Shiraz blend from a vineyard just north of Red Deer – with his fish.
Olive will last longer if it’s kept in a dark glass bottle. On the other hand, you might well use enough olive oil not to have to worry about it. If you’re refilling something into a clear glass bottle, you can always put a snazzy paper label around it to keep the light out (or knit a wine cozy or something if you’re feeling really crafty…).
olive oil should come in a dark bottle, because it’s so volatile and sensitive to heat and light. it’s one of those things that some people don’t know about though, so they just keep selling it in clear bottles, and people keep buying it…
Nooooo!!!! Back away from the olive oil in the clear bottle! Woe be unto you. Olive oil should come in a dark green (or blue or brown) bottle. Like that grizzled old man at the office, it is more sesitive that you may think. It’s also best to keep it in a dry cool to cold place. I’ve heard that it’s best in the frige, but since you’ve long abandonded that, a dark cubby will do.
What you should do is take up canning! Then you will keep local produce, have a set amount of jars that you constantly use, reduce the toxins leaching into your food (and the sodium content can be kept minimal too).
You can can (yeah, yeah…) just about anything, and Mason Jars are incredibly versatile. Warning: every time you open a jar of tomatoes you canned in the summer, they’ll actually smell and taste like Tomatoes!
Long ago I had a glass-manufacturing client located in southwestern NY state. The operations manager told me that glass is the original recycleable material. If broken glass wasn’t added to the virgin materials when put into the furnace, then the furnace would have to run so much hotter to melt just the virgin material. At least with glass there is the energy and carbon savings from cooler furnaces. And, it can be recycled/re-sued in artwork (bottle tree anyone?) and in other ways.
But, as you point out, everything has consequences, including glass with it’s carbon dioxide generation.
I tried some of the aseptically packaged wine and it was good for everyday wine
The ban comic sans web site is hilarious! I love the photos. (Completely off topic, I know) Ummm… go recycled glass! Is it more environmentally friendly to just make your own wine? You could get used bottles from restaurants and save them from even needing to be recycled. Just wash and re-use. Not all homemade wine is bad. Happy Valentine’s Day. Go buy some nice locally made chocolate.
I think clear vs colored glass is a judgment call. Clear glass is more valuable for recyclers, but it is almost exclusively made from virgin materials, which means it also takes more energy to produce. Because of practical limitations, most places can only recycle mixed cullet which can be used to make green/brown glass but not clear glass. As kareninelpaso said, using cullet saves a lot of energy in making glass.
As for tetra-packs, they might be lighter but because of all the layers they are a pain to recycle, so only the most advanced recycling programs actually do it.
Re: recycling Tetrapaks… They are not easy to recycle and usually end up as a contaminant in the waste stream because of the complicated layers of plastic, paper, and aluminum. (Do Canadians say “aluminum” or “aluminium?”)
See this post:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2007/09/wait-are-you-sure-thats-recyclable.html
Scroll down to number 10. Or read the whole thing!
We have GOT to get more people to recycle. Remember the commercial back in the 70’s with the Native American Indian crying over the mess people make? That was a strong message. Here is a less depressing, kind of cool way to get the recycling message to people. Check it out: http://www.awarenessideas.com/awareness-animation-a/405.htm