Tag: BOTTLE

Plastic or glass? What bottle do we choose? – Italian Cuisine

The water it is the most precious asset that man can have available. Without water there is no life. For this you must constantly take care of it. But what is the best path to take once you want to buy it?

Choose the one in the bottle? But plastic or glass? The water that flows directly from the tap at home? Or the one supplied by the "water boxes"? In short, the possibilities are there, just understand which is the best and be able to orient yourself.

But for this time let's focus on the often conflicting choice between plastic and glass bottles, a much discussed topic in everyday life, which emerges when we have to decide what to bring into our homes. Both glass and plastic bottles are suitable for maintaining the chemical-biological characteristics of the water while protecting taste and safety.

One ancient, the other modern

Glass is an ancient material: the origins of the bottle in this material dates back to 1500 BC, so much so that it seems that the most remote containers are attributed to the time of the pharaohs. However, it was from the mid-eighteenth century that bottles began to spread, with the increase in the production of quality wine or the invention of Champagne in France, which necessarily had to be stored in glass. Plastic, on the other hand, is a "modern" material: its century is certainly the 1900s, even more so the 60s, when it asserts itself in everyday life as well as in fashion, art and design. In this way, glass is overcome by this material, which is cheaper and easier to transport, and plastic bottles take over, making glass water almost a niche product, used above all in luxury catering. Contrary to what many think, plastic water is no less safe. PET bottles, if stored in the right way, do not in fact release harmful substances to the water.

pros and cons

Glass is a high quality packaging material, which manages to preserve the flavor and effervescence of a liquid, as well as being very safe from a health point of view. It can be disposed of through separate collection or, even better, the bottles can be returned to the seller and used again for the conservation and marketing of water. There in fact, a glass bottle can be reused even more than 30 times with the “returnable vacuum” system.

Plastic bottles, on the other hand, are much lighter as well as more manageable, moreover they are unbreakable and after use they can simply be crumpled and thrown away, without needing to be stored and returned to the store.

Today, attention to environmental sustainability and packaging and concerns about the use of plastic and the risks involved in using it are making a return to glass. In fact, plastic takes up to 1000 years to completely degrade, and if it is true that today we have increasingly effective recycling techniques (which however require an important investment in energy terms), we cannot forget that currently, in Italy, more than half of the plastic that is thrown away is not properly sorted, and then swells the mountains of waste that crowd our landfills. Seas and oceans are also invaded by single-use plastics, and this has serious repercussions on marine flora and fauna: all topics that cannot leave us indifferent.

The health risks

Unfortunately, the microplastics that pollute water have also entered food chains. We can't see them, but they show up invisible on our plates through both food and drink. If these are ingested by fish, molluscs and crustaceans, laboratory analyzes have also found them in mineral waters and soft drinks, honey and beer, all contaminated by the types of plastic most used in packaging. Using table salt alone, an adult risks ingesting about 2,000 pieces of microplastics in a year.
Reducing plastic is certainly possible, but to reduce the environmental impact it is also essential to reuse all that can be recovered by transforming PET, the polymer used for beverage bottles. It is a "noble" material which, if collected and treated properly, is infinitely recyclable.

Milan, pick up a plastic bottle and get a beer – Italian Cuisine

Until Sunday, in Ripa di Porta Ticinese, the special "plastic machine" is in operation in collaboration with Corona. And, above the plant, a mega wave-shaped installation, made of recycled plastic

Plastic used for a beer. Until Sunday 9 June (closing day of the Ocean's Week), if you insert a small bottle in a special plastic machine which was installed in Ripa di Porta Ticinese 43, you will receive a coupon that will give you a bottle of Corona, the famous Mexican beer, completely free. You can pick it up in one of the places participating in theinitiative Pay with plastic: Elita bar, Mag Cafè, Sugar and Ugo.

When you will be in front of the plastic machine, look up: right above the plant it was positioned a giant wave-shaped installation, obtained from the activity of recovery and recycling, and consists of 15 cubic meters of material for a weight of about 220 kilos, with over 12 thousand bottles and glasses.

The work of art, which has been inaugurated on the Naviglio Grande by the singer Jovanotti, together with the musician Saturnino and the television presenter Marco Maccarini, will be in Ripa di Porta Ticinese until Sunday, June 16th, then he will leave for a summer tour throughout Italy, in locations affected by Jova Beach Party. "This wave will follow me in these 15 beaches," the singer explained. "It's a way to show symbols that are important. Actions are also important, but they also light up thanks to the story that you manage to put on stage .

The wave in recycled plastic was made for the #ProtectParadise campaign launched by the Corona brand to raise awareness among the inhabitants of the city to safeguard the environment, starting from the cleaning of the canals, up to the correct disposal of waste.

How many times can a plastic bottle be reused? – Italian Cuisine

Health and environment: how many times is it advisable to reuse a plastic bottle?

A plastic water bottle is comfortable and light. We can take it with us and fill it several times, when we are around for a walk, but also in the daily workday. The question, however, arises: how many times can a plastic bottle be reused?

Are plastic bottles safe?

Plastic bottles are produced with raw materials for food use, so from this point of view there is no fear. Once this is established, however, a false myth is born: many believe that the number that is at the bottom of the bottles or plastic cups represent the number of reusables allowed. In reality that number represents the type of material of which the container is made and it is necessary for the collection centers to properly dispose of the waste.

What we see on the plastic water bottles is the number 1, which identifies the PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the lightest and most flexible type of plastic, which is used for most disposable containers. Although this plastic does not release substances that are harmful to health, the products packaged with it are nevertheless identified as single use. Consequently, by reusing them over the long term, they may lose their characteristics and be targeted by germs and bacteria more easily.

… and the environment?

After having taken into consideration the aspects concerning the safety of plastic bottles, the most important issue, that linked to theenvironmental pollution.
PET plastic it is not biodegradable: the average life of these bottles is estimated at a good 1000 years. A very long period to spend on our planet, considering that most of the bottles are not collected for recycling and end up polluting the environment, from the soil to the waters of the seas and rivers.
The plastic emergency is becoming more and more current and this is why many companies have taken a path plastic free, like NaturaSì, which eliminated plastic bottles from its offer, in favor of water dispensers and loose glass bottles.

How many times can a plastic bottle be reused?

So let's go back to the initial question: how many times can we reuse a plastic bottle? The answer at this point should be: never. Better to prefer other types of materials, such as the glass or the metal, washing them regularly, and maybe using water bottles to prune water around with us.

Did you happen to have no other choice? Reuse the plastic bottle so creative and give him one new life. Some idea?

Cut the bottle in half: the upper part can become a funnel, while the lower one a penholder to decorate. There are also those who use them to create mini greenhouses for the cultivation of small plants, palette for gardening or mangers for birds. The top for a plastic bottle? Help us recycle and dispose of other waste: a plastic bottle can in fact also be used for recovery of used oil, for example that of a frying or preservation of canned food, to transport it to the disposal center.