Glass vs. Plastic?

I am trying to wrap my head around the glass vs. plastic bottle buzz that has emerged recently. Quick overview of issues as they stand in my mind: Plastic bottles are much lighter (7ish times) than glass, and for wines meant for immediate consumption do not have known negative effects on the wine - just don't try to age wine in plastic. And yet, although recycling of plastic is much more prominent in the US, actual "recycling" (aka, using recycled bottles to make more bottles, as opposed to "downcycling" - making a park bench") is difficult and costly. Glass, on the other hand, due to its molecular structure can be recycled into more glass bottles many times without any significant loss, but due to its weight, recycling becomes costly.

This is just a tip of the iceberg overview - where do you stand on this issue? Thoughts? Other variables to consider?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott Abernethy on August 18, 2009 at 9:02am: I've never tried wine in a plastic bottle - it opens up some consumption opportunities that were unrealistic with glass bottles. Are any local wines packaged that way? Do you get any plastic taste?

As for recycling - I've always been amazed that even in "wine country" it is not easy to recycle wine bottles. Even I live in a medium-sized community, we do not have curbside recycling, and if we did, we would probably have to sort our glass by color, etc. and it is a big pain. I wish there was a repository for used wine bottles. I would gladly save them up and drop them off.

Like most wine drinkers, I am more concerned about what is in the package - not the packaging itself. Perhaps I should be more environmentally conscious.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sasha Bobylev on August 18, 2009 at 12:19pm: I am assuming at this point that if the wine that goes into the bottle is meant for immediate consumption, and is indeed consumed within the first year (which is the vast majority of wines), that the taste of the wine is NOT affected by the plastic. This could be a point of contention, but for the sake of figuring out more about the environmental and economic implications of this debate, I am leaving the "taste difference" variable out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stacy Buchanan on September 25, 2009 at 10:42am: I think plastic should be considered for wines that don't need aging, because-like you pointed out-plastic doesn't really do the trick for wines that need time in the bottle... Like lighter whites, fruit-infused, etc. However, if that's the issue, I think it opens up the issue/topic to consider the world of the tetra pak as well because of many of the same benefits (costs less, lighter, recyclable, etc.); ▶ Reply to This