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Glass is the only food and beverage packing material that is cradle-to-cradle and endlessly recyclable
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In 2010, the glass industry was one of the first to carry out a comprehensive environmental life cycle analysis of glass.
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Glass has had a 400-year history in the American
marketplace
Primary Energy Demand (MJ/kg)
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(PED) measures the total amount of energy (in MJ) needed to create a certain mass of product. This number takes into account both renewable and non-renewable energy sources, but focuses mainly on energy needed during manufacturing, extraction, and production.
Glass
0.4641
6.4740
Steel
0.0420
GWP
PED
0.4536
Plastics
Global Warming Potential (kg/kg CO2e)
(GWP) measures how much a given material mass contributes to global warming over a given period using carbon dioxide as a baseline.
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For instance, the GWP of CO2 would be 1.0
#1 (PET)
0.1936
GWP
2.6310
PED
#5 (PP)
0.0440
1.7720
Glass
Product Comparison
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Generally, boba cups are made of resin identification codes (RIC) #1 (PETE/PET-polyethylene terephthalate) and #5 (PP-polypropylene) which means they are usually recyclable
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However, this is not always the case:
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Each city's waste management sector has different guidelines about what plastics are recyclable
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The plastic cup may need to be well washed and dry to be fully recyclable
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The plastic straws are made of Plastic #5, but recycling companies usually do not take straws, since they can fall in between or get stuck in recycling machinery
Conclusions
Based on the results from above, in the short-run, plastic has both a lower GWP and PED than the Jar-gon Jar made from glass and metal.
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HOWEVER, using the JAR-GON Jar at least 4 times will already reduce the GWP compared to PET and over 12 times to fully reduce its impact compared to both types of plastics.
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Assumptions made for calculations
In calculating the numbers, there were a lot of assumptions made to arrive at the numbers. These numbers can all vary based on a variety of factors, such as manufacturing location, method of transportation, and size of packaging.
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Here is a list of all assumptions made:
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Lid is completely made of steel that is hot-rolled coil
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GWP and PED do not take into account recycling benefits or waste management, but if such, the glass and steel would have higher results.
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Transportation and delivery of products are not included within the calculations
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PET for water bottles was used as a baseline
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Mass for each product was calculated based on the 24 fl oz cup size
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Water to wash the jars is negligible