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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)
(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.
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.
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.
Assumptions made for calculations
In the calculations, 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.
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