• Steve@communick.news
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    Cans.
    Cans are actually recyclable containers, that fix most of the environmental problems of plastic bottles.

    They’ve had resealable “bottle like” cans for a decade or more already.

    Fountain drinks can use the same CO2 they already have, to pressurize cans of concentrate to pump the syrup to the fountain head.

    • kaitco@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      2 months ago

      Not entirely. All cans currently made (at least for the US) have a super thin plastic liner to help the drink avoid taking on too much of a metallic taste.

      There are multiple YouTubes out there that will show you what happens when you dissolve an aluminum can; the dissolution process removes the aluminum and leaves the plastic liner.

      • Steve@communick.news
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        2 months ago

        Not sure what you mean by dissolving. As far as so know aluminum gets melted down. Any plastic, inks, or other impurities get burned off generally.

          • Steve@communick.news
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            2 months ago

            Yah, that’s not how they are recycled. That gets burned off by the temps required to melt the aluminum.

            • arglebargle@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              ·
              edit-2
              2 months ago

              Their point was that buying a can just means you are buying a plastic container anyways, that happens to be reinforced with aluminum.

              It’s still a plastic bottle.

              • Steve@communick.news
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                3
                ·
                2 months ago

                It’s not. It’s a thin plastic film. One that doesn’t get into the environment at nearly the rate, since the aluminum is actually worth recycling.

                • arglebargle@lemm.ee
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  3
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  2 months ago

                  A thin plastic film… in other words a plastic bottle.

                  Actually a resin. Made of BPA, which is released into the atmosphere during the recycling process. Which contributes to the 1 million pounds of bpa released every year.

                  Basically small amounts of plastic BPA, burned into the air for each and every can.

                  So no cans currently do not solve the plastics problem.

                  • Steve@communick.news
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    2
                    arrow-down
                    2
                    ·
                    2 months ago

                    I think you may have an unworkable concept of what “solving” the plastic problem means, when you can’t tell the difference between a film and a bottle. Both of which have largely phased out BPA already.

            • P1nkman@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              2 months ago

              I, nor the poster you replied to, never mentioned recycling. Your starting to put things into the discussion that was never there.

              • Steve@communick.news
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                2 months ago

                It does seem that way.
                I guess I’m not sure what problem you’re talking about.

    • Temperche@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      2 months ago

      Aluminium recycling/melting however needs a lot of energy, which again is often generated from non-renewable sources. So even cans are bad for the environment.

      • Steve@communick.news
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        2 months ago

        That’s a temporary problem. One solved by the renewable energy transition already underway.