New Study Gives “Green” Light to
PET Bottles over Glass or Aluminum

New York, NY (April 6, 2010)– A newly released life-cycle inventory of single-serving soda containers concludes that PET plastic bottles offer a better environmental footprint than aluminum cans or glass bottles by using less energy, generating less solid waste, and creating significantly fewer greenhouse gases.

The cradle-to-grave study, conducted by Franklin Associates for the PET Resin Association (PETRA), compared total energy, solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions per 100,000 ounces of soft drinks packaged in typical 20-oz PET bottles, 8-oz glass bottles, or 12-oz aluminum cans.  The PET bottles showed appreciably lower numbers across the board.

Most notable were the lower greenhouse gas emissions for the PET bottles, which registered 59% less than aluminum and 77% less than glass.  Franklin calculated the greenhouse gas emissions for the PET bottles at 1,125 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents, compared to 2,766 lbs for aluminum and 4,949 lbs for glass.

Read full article: http://www.petresin.org/news_GreenLighttoPETBottles.asp