Plastic bottles with poor health

Concern for pollutants leads to the renaissance of the glass bottle

07/31/2014

After the proportion of glass bottles on the German beverage market has declined for years, they experienced a renaissance last year, according to the announcement of the German Environmental Aid (DUH). „German consumers are increasingly buying mineral water in reusable and environmentally friendly glass bottles“, so the message of the DUH. In many cases, behind the trend towards the glass bottle is the fear of pollutants that could be removed from plastic bottles and taken with the drinks.

„Refillable glass bottles do not interact with the contents“, which gives a clear advantage over drinks in disposable plastic bottles, „in which chemical compounds can contaminate the beverage“, reports the DUH. As early as 2009, ecotoxicologists at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main had proven that numerous mineral waters contain hormone-like substances. The researchers also found that at least part of the environmental hormones came from plastic packaging. „We compared bottled water from glass and plastic bottles and were able to show that the estrogenic load in water from PET bottles is about twice as high as in water from glass bottles“, explained the Frankfurt toxicologist Martin Wagner. „At the beginning of our work, we did not expect to find such massive levels of estrogenic contamination in a food that is subject to strict controls“, stressed Wagner.

Rising demand for glass returnable bottle
As a cause of the hormone-like substances in mineral water, the scientists call, inter alia „the leaching of plastic additives, such as plasticizers, from the PET bottles.“ Consumers also appear to be more exposed to risk here and therefore return to the glass reusable bottle. „In the first quarter of 2014, sales increased by three percent compared to the previous year“, reports the DUH. At the same time, the sale of disposable beverage packaging at large discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, had declined for the first time in many years. „The reusable quotas for beverage packaging are to stabilize and even grow, because quality and environmental protection are playing an increasingly important role for consumers“, emphasized the DUH general manager Jürgen Resch and added: „Many customers have lost the desire for water from cheap disposable plastic bottles.“

Refillable bottles with a relatively low market share
Although the glass refillable bottle is enjoying a new popularity, its overall market share is extremely low. More common are plastic returnable bottles. And in total, according to the DUH, the proportion of reusable bottles is only around forty percent. A large part of the drinks is therefore delivered in disposable beverage packaging. „Political support is still needed in order to achieve the legally stipulated target of 80 percent of ecologically advantageous beverage packaging in the Packaging Ordinance“, reports the DUH. The growing concern of the population about possible pollutants in plastic bottles could, however, have a positive effect here, since glass bottles remain an alternative, and these are usually designed for refillable bottles in the case of mineral water and water.

Tap water as an alternative
In addition to bottled water from glass bottles, plain tap water is a good way to avoid imminent exposure to hormone-like substances from the plastic bottles. Also, the tap water can be supplied, if necessary by means of appropriate household appliances carbon dioxide, if this is more suited to the individual taste. The Frankfurt toxicologist Martin Wagner explained that no corresponding environmental hormones were detected in tap water. In addition, be tap water „1000 to 5000 times cheaper, does not have to be packaged, filled with high energy expenditure and transported and causes no garbage“, emphasized Martin Wagner in an interview with Frederik Jötten for the „Cologne Rundschau“.

Conscious abandonment of plastic bottles
The toxicologist also made it clear that the leaching of chemicals is time-dependent or over time from the plastic packaging more and more substances on the content can pass. In addition, increase the amount of transition of substances with temperature. In the case of heat, for example, more and more acetaldehyde would be released from the plastic of the plastic bottles. Ultimately, from a health point of view, everything seems to be against the use of plastic bottles and the use of glass bottles. However, the weight advantage of the PET products remains, which for the production, delivery and purchasing brings significant relief and initially had a significant share in the success of the plastic bottles. Although the glass bottles are now experiencing a slight renaissance, this is not to be equated with a general departure from the plastic bottles. However, it is becoming clear that apparently more and more consumers are worried about possible substance inputs from the PET bottles and therefore consciously opt for the purchase of glass bottles. (Fp)