"Should start somewhere else" New bottle caps are pure activism, criticizes expert
The screw cap is actually a good thing. Fits, fits, keeps tight. A Brit patented this invention 135 years ago. Today, this everyday hero causes trouble for some.
06.08.2024, 07:12
06.08.2024, 08:34
dpa
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- Since July 3, bottles with loose lids are no longer allowed to be sold in the EU.
- One expert criticizes the fact that the new regulation hardly contributes to environmental protection.
- It is more important to recycle more plastics.
One packaging expert has criticized the mandatory requirement for permanently attached bottle lids as not mandatory and not logical. "Does this really do anything for the planet or even for Europe? And my clear answer is no," Markus Prem from Kempten University of Applied Sciences told the German Press Agency.
It is pure actionism to assuage a guilty conscience. However, the expert assumes that a habituation effect will soon set in with the so-called tethered caps. In order to reduce litter in the countryside, loose caps have been banned from certain drinks since July 3.
Prem said that the amount of discarded caps that ultimately end up in the sea or in rivers and lakes is extremely low. "The industry has been forced to invest billions in new machines, among other things, for an effect that is virtually impossible to measure."
The Federal Association of German Beverage Wholesalers told dpa on request that plants would have had to be converted or rebuilt. "We are assuming amounts in the millions," it said.
"It is more important to recycle plastics"
The Verband Deutscher Mineralbrunnen (VDM) emphasized: "We are not aware of any major problems with the changeover in the industry." However, the effort and costs would vary greatly. For some companies, the changeover in bottling would be equivalent to a new product launch.
Others would have considerable expenses if changes in inspection technology or capping technology were necessary. Europe and America account for a small proportion of the plastics that are washed into the sea, said Prem. The overwhelming majority comes from Asia.
"We would have to start somewhere else if we really wanted to make a difference." It is much more important to recycle plastics and create a cycle. "In many areas, plastics are composite materials that are very difficult or impossible to recycle." A good example is PET bottles, which are almost completely recycled, said Prem.
135th anniversary of the patent
The VDM also emphasized that a return rate of around 99% has already been achieved for glass and PET bottles. "The problem of littering therefore did not exist in Europe even before the EU directive came into force." "Littering" refers to littering.
Prem does not believe that consumers will continue to get upset about the tethered caps for long. People have also become accustomed to the abolition of plastic bags and plastic straws.
Basically, the screw cap, which was patented 135 years ago this Saturday, August 10, by Briton Dan Rylands, is a success story, said the packaging expert. There are, of course, other closure systems such as crown caps or tear tabs. "But there is no simpler method of closing something than with the screw cap," said Prem.
