🍺 Is beer bottle caps bad for the environment?

Environmental impact. What we can do

This is article 6 of 7 for The Tech Progressive writers community, where we will post 1 article a day for 7 days.

Last Friday, I joined a volunteer cleanup day with the company I am working for and Rehab Republic (a local zero waste NGO), to collect and sort waste around the river basin of the Isar river in Munich.

Though at first glimpse the area looks not too bad compared to other rivers I have been to, it was quite a surprise to found find thousands of beer bottle caps stuck on the grass.

It made me think about how bad is it for the environment, and what we can do to minimize it.

🗑️ Environmental impact

The metal bottle cap or crown cap has been around since the 19th century, with a novel intention to protect and preserve drinks served in a glass bottle. 

Fast forward 1 century later, we are still using it but in a much larger volume. In 2020, it is estimated that almost 700 billions glass bottles were produced globally. 

The Environmental Awareness Campaign found that bottle crown caps are one of the top 10 items found during marine debris beach clean-ups and are the second most littered item after cigarette butts. This is exactly what I saw during the cleanup day.

✋ What we can do

• Crown caps can be recycled, the only thing that needs to be done is to separate them based on the materials, either steel or aluminum. An easy way to find out is with a  magnet, steel cap will stick and aluminum will not.

• Though there is a plastic lid inside the cap, don't worry. Some sources suggest that it is acceptable for recyclers because it will be burned off when the metal cap is melted for recycling.

• Don't put back the metal cap on the bottle, because it will not be processed in the bottle refilling plant and will be thrown out.

• Buy beer with a popup bottle. It is fun to open and ensure that there is no waste from your drinking. 

• Might want to consider buying beer in a can, especially the one from recycled can. Recycling can use 90% less energy than recycling a glass bottle.

Source: Euronews

Conclusion

Summer is coming. Next time you are in a park to have some beers, don't forget to collect the cap. Look around you as well. If you see some cap on the grass, pick it up. Your grandchildren will thank you for that. 

Have a cold one and enjoy responsibly!

Thanks for reading this article and enjoy the weather ☀️.