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Question:

Plastic or Glass? Try to convince me!?

I hate the way mayonaise tastes in the new plastic jars and I know for a fact that the plastic milk containers absorb odors.What do you prefer?Try to convince me that plastic is better!And I don't agree with 'it's more economical'.

Answer:

Many times plastic is not better. Plastic is absorbed into the food product. Look at the new evidence on plastic baby bottles causing problems later in their lives. Glass is not absorbed into the food, but slivers of broken glass can get into the food. Plastic takes over a 1000 years to degrade. Glass on the other hand breaks and degrades back into sand in usually 25 to 30 years unless it is protected from breaking. Glass is easily recyclable to more glass containers. Stop and think how many things are made of plastic that are in common use today; yes it is lighter but all plastic is made of oil, usually petroleum oil. We complain about the high cost of gasoline but a majority of the oil is used for plastic production. Glass is overall more economical in my estimation.
I only buy the small containers of Hellman's mayo. I've never noticed a difference. But then again, I don't eat the mayo off a spoon. It's mixed in coleslaw with other stronger flavors, or on a sandwich. I couldn't possibly detect a difference over the other stronger flavors I use it with. I would prefer glass for environmental reasons, but as long as the plastic is recyclable (still not the best option, environmentally speaking), and since I don't detect any difference in taste, I'm fine with the plastic. (I don't buy milk in plastic containers. I only buy organic. I don't believe I've ever seen organic milk in a plastic container.)
glass is better because it is
plastic, it is harder to break when dropped, container is recycleable and it's safer for kids to handle if dropped.
Glass is heavier, so plastic is the first choice for ecomics. With todays fuel costs, anything that saves on shipping costs is beneficial. Both Plastic and glass can be recycled, but I think that glass has to win if you try that argument. I also think that glass is easier to reuse if not broken. As for tastes and smells, I'd have to split my vote. And neither substance will keep my milk from spoiling quickly. They say that the paper cartons actually keep your milk a little better, because it keeps out certain types of light. (But then you can't recycle)

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