Why do food and beverage companies use plastic?
Because research shows that it’s the best packaging option for you… and the planet

If I asked you to name three “bad” things about plastic, I’m 99.9% sure you’d list off the “offenses” faster than you could sing a line from your favorite Kendrick Lamar or Sabrina Carpenter song. But, what if I asked you to name three “good” things about plastic? Could you do that as “swift”ly?

A little research into why the companies that make bottled water and other packaged beverages continue to use plastic containers proved educational, and (if I’m honest) a little bit obvious. It turns out, they have numerous, science-backed reasons for using plastic. Here are four.

It’s recyclable.

The PET and HDPE plastics (#1 and #2) used for beverage containers are 100% recyclable, and throughout the United States, there are recycling facilities that are happy to accept them. In fact, the National Association for PET Container Recourses (NAPCOR), an organization that focuses only on PET issues, explains that, like aluminum, PET plastic can be recycled over and over again.

No doubt, the recycling rate for PET bottled water containers could be better; it stands at 31.3%. But keep in mind, plastics in general have a very low recycling rate—8.7%—per the EPA. We can do better people! No matter what beverage you’re drinking, if it comes in a recyclable, individual-sized PET plastic bottle, take that extra step! Drink. Enjoy. Recycle. Help make sure that plastic bottle goes on to have another life!

It’s shatterproof.

Dropping a PET or HDPE water container on your toe might hurt, but it won’t cut your toe like a glass bottle would because plastic containers are virtually unbreakable. And that’s a good thing considering the trip your favorite bottled water takes to reach the shelf at your local grocery store. PET and HDPE bottles line up along the assembly line to be filled, take a ride along the conveyor belt to get packaged up, and then stored on a truck for the ride to your local grocery store. And then you—and your clumsy fingers—take it off the shelf and immediately drop it with a thud on the grocery store floor. Thanks to the miracle of plastic, the container retains its integrity, doesn’t break, keeps your drink safe, and you can just pick it up and toss it in your cart. With no need for a “clean up on aisle 5” announcement!

It’s lightweight.

A small PET plastic water bottle that holds 16.9 ounces is super light, weighing only 8.3 grams. [link to graphic] That’s much lighter than any other beverage bottle. The next lightest container is the PET bottle for soda, but it’s almost three times heavier at 22.2 grams. ADD WHY Other types of beverage containers weigh in at varying amounts too. The aluminum can is 19.7 grams, a carton—which is a mixture of paper and plastic—is 21.8 grams, and the glass bottle is obviously the heaviest, coming in at a hefty 300.6 grams. Why is this important? Keep reading.

It has the least environmental impact on the planet.

A quick glance over grocery store shelves will show you that PET plastic is used for both bottled water and soda bottles (but also is the packaging material of choice for ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, mayonnaise, etc.). What you might not know is that a firm called McKinsey & Company conducted research that shows PET plastic is the best packaging option because it has the least impact on the environment.

Here’s what McKinsey’s revealed in its full report: PET bottles produce the least greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions “because of their lightweight properties and the low amount of energy required to produce them. By contrast, aluminum cans have two times the emissions of PET bottles, and emissions from glass bottles are three times higher.” Now, imagine how low that impact would be if the bottle was three times lighter, around 8.3 grams—that’s the reduced impact of a PET bottled water bottle.

When talking about the environmental impact of beverages containers, it ultimately comes down to the amount of material used to create the packaging. Using less material to create a container means less impact from extraction and manufacturing—and less material entering landfills or needing to be recycled. Check out the details in the following infographic.

So, choose water in PET plastic bottles for the ultimate win-win: You get pure, refreshing healthy hydration while making a container choice that science has shown to be the most environmentally responsible packaging choice available today!