Is aluminum better than plastic? It’s complicated.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
- Recycled aluminum is coming for your water and your iPad. From laptops to water bottles, aluminum is being touted as an eco-friendly answer to the global crisis in plastic waste. But is aluminum really the cure-all that some claim it is?
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What new aluminum products have you seen recently?
plastic can also be recycled so... bad content
Not really much actually... only iPad and MacBooks..
What's up with the biodegradable plastic?!!
*Are all material scientists and engineers STUPID* ?!! Can't they create recyclable plastic?!!!
@@MK-fk4kp they kinda have I guess. They're just not strong enough.
@@morrari690 1:37 I guess you didn't notice.
Imagine thinking creating another container for water was the only way to solve climate change instead of.....not using single use containers for water??
It's pretty hygienic, that's why travelers who aren't keen on getting water poisoning use single-use containers.
Also, you can't ensure that you wash multi-use containers properly.
I do agree that we should use more multi-use containers, especially when in your local area where you won't get these problems
Yeah, my solution is always going back to the OOOOOLLLLDDD saying. "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." The order wasnt chosen at random, it was a ranking. First just use less, if you cant try something reusable, then last resort recycle.
Ive had a solid glass bottle ive been using for water for years. Its non-reactive so it can be hot, cold, whatever. And when I finally break it it can just become another glass bottle.
@@wackwacker8623 how about cleaning your container... also this is probably not for travelers in developing countries
@@wackwacker8623 That is a specific use-case and you know this. The vast majority of single-use containers are easily replaced by a durable good in the western world.
Also there are other ways. While in foreign countries, if I am not on the move for a few days, buy a bit bottle of water and use it to refill a smaller bottle. More economic AND better for the planet.
@@RyanStewartUSA 100 percent true but hard to bring to the masses , people are lazy and corrupt creatures who can ignore truth.
I prefer drinking from skulls.
Skøl!
Skøl!
Ahh! those old dark ages...
Ⲓ Ⲁⲟ Ⲧⲟⲟ
They are Biodegradable and a bold fashion statement. I love it!
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
1. use
2. litter
3. polute
Remember the most important "R":
Reduce.
The second most important is reuse
The third is recycle
So why going recycle but not try reuse or reduce yet?
@@Multiple-Sclerosis Ah. ULP
Are you in creative british school?
how about just not create single-use items all together instead of finding alterantives. even if it can be recycled, doesnt mean everyone will recycle it.
Oliver Page A lot of people are reliant on single use objects, usually because of poverty.
Easy solution: Make people pay 15 cts more per container. they get them back, when they recycle the container.
For a multitude of reasons, single use packaging isn't going away.
So we need a better single use material that offers the use benefits of plastic while either being wholly and easily recyclable, or degrading easily after use into parts that aren't toxic to marine or wildlife.
@@cobaltno51 That's called a deposit, which many states do. Michigan has had a 10 cent deposit on each can for a long time.
I've asked a lot of people and I think the biggest reason people don't want to use reusable containers is because of the hassle of cleaning. Even a water bottle needs to be scrubbed clean after a while. And people just can't be bothered to do that.
To get people to adopt maybe offices and schools should invest in dedicated bottle cleaners. Like little dishwashers that can spit out fresh clean bottles. But you would have to bring your own reusable bottle.
It's "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"
Unfortunately only the last one is popularized as an environmental act, because the first two are less compatible with consumption / capitalism
Even though in this order recycling is the last option. The first two should be the first choices.
Indeed. They should be thought in that order
Thytos uP
Thats the thing though, no one (or very few people) are willing to Reduce. Reuse to some extent yes, and recycle definitely, but reuse is such a non convenient way of limiting wastes.
mending is better than ending
Exactly! Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. If we don't change our habits then all it does is transfer the destruction as the video suggests :)
The problem is we are all addicts hooked on single use items. A dangerous bad habit we have to kick.
Speak for yourself. I carry silverware, tumbler and reusable grocery bags.
@@benefactionhindrance Normally when someone comments like this it doesn't mean that every single individual on Earth does it. Just that the majority does, you may give yourself a pat on the back but the truth is that the absolute majority of society is addicted to these items.
Well for alot of things we can't. Food is going to spoil faster if you get rid of plastic wrapping and containers
Keep your jars! Use one to Cary your drinks. Even if it gets thrown into the ocean, it will one day become sand. Jars!
This is a fantasy that just isn't going to happen. There's just simply no way you will be able to convince even a moderate some of the population to stop using the cheapest and easiest way to consume products, it's just a part of the consumer society we live in. In order to change this you'd have to completely change our modern way of living, which could only be from a major societal reconstruction. Unless your keen on collapsing civilization, we have to find a material that works within the boundaries of single use items.
and also the fact that aluminium can breakdown in a natrual way by oxidation instead of plastic being stuck for thousands of years is also a big point i think?
Aluminium metal is protectet from further oxidation by a thin layer of aluminium oxide (so called passive film). Aluminium does not rust like iron does because this passive film is a very good protection method and if it is damaged a new passive layer is formed almost instantly. It might even be around longer than polymers (plastic). Both are bad if they enter the foodchain.
@@Flederratte only difference is that if companies really make the effort more than 50% of their products can be from recycled aluminum drastically reducing the mining rates(where applicable). Of course the companies have to make the initiatives in collaboration with green initiatives by the government to mow sure the cycle is tight
@@Flederratte I've watched aluminum cans decompose and essentially dissolve over a couple of years in the desert. I can only imagine what a couple of hundred years would do. They look like they turn to dirt.
@@emsavings If you have seen metal cans decompose in a natural environment I have three explanations.
1) Mecanical reduction of size maybe by grains of sand grinding away the metal
2) Acidic or basic environment (maybe acidic rain) both would dissolve aluminium
3) The cans were not made from aluminium metal but instead were made out of steel foil (many beer cans are out of steel). Maybe they were made from an aluminium alloy which is not as corrosion resistant where the passive film protection did not work.
I found aluminium cans from more than 50 years old and the metal did not show much signs of decomposition. If it was plastic it would have been destroyed to little particles already.
@@Flederratte Thank you for the thoughtful explaination. I'm certain the majority were beer cans. The desert I refer to is alkaline, so maybe that made a difference. I wonder if we have a solution in steel foil, why we are not using that?
Fifty years ago we brought in glass bottles for refund and reuse.
It also encouraged me and other kids to go pick up bottles to use for cash
to buy things like ice cream, or candy or anything else we wanted.
@@bluehelmet314 LOL :D
Candy don't cost a nickle anymore bud.
@@JonJon-du9ne ten bottles with a ten cents deposit each will get you a BIG size candy bar where I live. Most people that collect cans here have a shopping cart full by the end of one day. Truth is most of them buy beer or cheap wine with the money.
@@bluehelmet314 I asked ecovidrio why they didn’t reuse glass bottles as when I was a kid. Summarizing, they told me that recycling them earned more money because of subsidies. The “recycling” companies they don’t care about reducing waste or save the planet, they just want money.
I wonder why returnables haven't gone up in value along with inflation, started out at 5 cents per bottle or can, still 5 cents per bottle or can.
I'd love to see the same comparison and include glass and tetrapac cartons. Like how much energy and waste does each produce for holding 1L of water over 50 units?
Greenflash tetrapack are not recycle because as plastic they are made of different type of materials, please research about it, not a lot of people know about it!
Why use canned water, when water comes out of the tap?...
peeps in Flint Michigan loves their tap-water so much ^^
@@Achmedsander and peeps in flint michigan are the only people with tap water in the world?
@@davideko3423 It's a common issue, Flint being the most known area.
Tap water isn’t drinkable in much of the world. Bottled water is safe no matter where you go
I've recently switched to bottled water because tap water contains chlorine. Plus there have been cases where bladder cancer and tap water have been linked. Even tho it's unlikely it'll do any harm, I think I'll stick to bottled water from now on. But don't worry I recycle.
Aluminum beverage cans have an inner plastic lining. You should have mentioned that.
@@MartiensBezuidenhout if they don't then their beverage will follow the taste of the container.
@@MartiensBezuidenhout they do, you just don't see it. Try burning inside of a can.
@@MartiensBezuidenhout they may change the family of plastic, but it's always a long chain polymer, otherwise it won't be able to store food without bonding to its content.
Daily dose
Aluminum cannot come into contact with food, otherwise it can contaminate it. All cans are sprayed on the inside with a very thin plastic coating (invisible) to separate the beverage from the metal. They do the same with aluminum bottles
This video took 6 minutes 50 seconds and I still don’t know what to drink from
Well at least they didn't stretch it to 10 minutes.
Just get a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water.
@@prairiepanda smart
@@prairiepanda You mean get a filtration system of your choice and use filtered tap water in a reusable container
@@VVchimaera depends on where you live. Tap water is safe where I live, but where my parents live you'd definitely need to filter it. They use a service that delivers big jugs of filtered water to their door, and then they return at regular intervals to trade the empty jugs for full ones.
3:05 Jason Mamoa is shaving in his water can commercial lmao!
David Nachman thought the same thing.
With a plastic covered shaver.
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There’s is a plastic lining inside aluminum cans.......
EM Epic I was looking for this comment. Thank you. How this wasn’t mentioned in this video is beyond me. If it didn’t have a plastic lining, it would taste like metal.
it is not technically plastic, but a thin chemical film
Essentially all cans have a BPA epoxy coating on the interior to inhibit corrosion.
The book "Rust: The Longest War", gives a great in depth look at the coatings on our cans.
Still can't deny it's a really small amount of plastic vs a plastic bottle, plus that one is recyclable since it's just one layer i think
Well, if we didn't have linings, there would probably be a lot more research into the link between aluminium intake and dementia.
In the end, there's no absolute solution. It's just weighing pros and cons.
We need to find a final solution for our plastic bottle problems
@@LemonsRage Hanf plastic is a great solution. Well at least we should research about that and it might be a great alternative.
Absolute solution ? use earthen ware a.k.a pots , glass , etc they have been used for 1000's of years. The fact that we can't find traces of broken clay pots is exactly what we want right ?
@@rx58000 that is materials used mainly before industrial revolution, the amount really small compared what we need today for everything, try to create hazmat suite from that material for covid19, can't. Plastic solve that problem, it is that feature that solving the problem which are cheap, great isolation, durable and lightweight that causing it to have the problem. The problem here actually how we will to do recycle, reuse the second hand plastics as it make cheap end product, the process to recycle became non-economically practical. Once we solve that economic, and waste handling problem (including transportation cost), then plastic can become viable solution again.
Jars. You get them for free with your pickles and your pasta sauce. They have lids. They work great.
the energy (and water) put in CNC machining every apple product, plus the anti right to repair policy, make the 100% recycled aluminum BS
Not to mention the fact that their 100% recycled aluminum MacBooks leave the factory wrapped in plastic-based anti-scratch covers, followed by several layers of plastic-coated paper and cardboard, then plastic wrap, then more cardboard, then yet another layer of cardboard, and then a later of plastic mesh. And all the accessories sold for them are similarly packaged. Most of that packaging is removed before hitting store shelves, so consumers only see the tip of the iceberg. I work in retail, and on the days we receive Apple products we are disposing of several times more paper, cardboard, and plastic than we would when receiving any other products. Sure, that stuff is recyclable, but recycling it all is still extremely inefficient.
@@prairiepanda Yeah, maybe fly to the manufacturing plant and put it right in your computer bag. No case needed. That'll much better.
@@joshuaemerson or ship it in reusable containers that get shipped back to apple once they reach stores.
@@joshuaemerson I'm not saying they don't need any packaging at all, just that what they use is excessive. All the other laptop brands we get ship directly in their original packaging, with a single plastic or cloth sleeve around the laptop itself, a couple of bare cardboard buffers, and a single bare cardboard box around everything. And since the shipping box is the retail package, the only packaging being disposed of is what the customer is getting. There's not a huge pile already before the customer even sees it, like there is with a MacBook.
@@joshuaemerson or simply reduce the packaging , or make the package recyclable
So we should drink more beer?
beer is so awesome it's even vegan
drink beer
@@matheussanthiago9685 Quite a few beers are vegan but certainly not all. If you are vegan it is important to research beers individually.
It takes more water to make beer than just drinking water soo...
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remember those times when Beverage co. used glass bottles and reused those bottles by washing them?
me neither I wasn’t born yet.
Talking about new-fangled aluminium like it hasn't been extensivley used as a beverage container and recycled en masse for nearly a century. Also, no mention of the most obvious drawback of aluminium cans which is their plastic lining. Also, you almost completely failed to really sum up the key point of debate on this issue, which you passingly refer to in your closing sentence: is a load of aluminium waste better than a load of plastic waste? You touch on the fact that 75% of aluminium is recycled and that it uses far less energy to recycle it but don't really balance out all the numbers. Also, what about the way waste aluminium breaks down? Does it erode due to sun exposure or sea water exposure? If not, you avoid the problem of microplastics. Urgh, this whole video was just so sloppy.
Were you on a debate team Mr.Chester?
@@fog7980 lmfaoooo
or, just spitballin here, we could go back to reusable glass beverage bottles with a small fee charged on the bottles that gets refunded when the bottle is turned back in to be sterilized and refilled.
I spent some time in Honduras back in 2012 and was excited when I noticed the bottles I was drinking coke from were reused, slightly faded labels, a tiny chip here and there, but glass can be easily sterilized so I had zero concerns. I don't recall seeing any glass bottles on the ground, and I wasn't even in the "nice" parts of Honduras.
As a bonus, more people would randomly pick up waste for money!
Here, restaurants are now not allowed to use disposeable bottles. I'm sad the same thing doesn't apply to the end user.
It would have been interesting to hear a little info about glass too. We know it's easier to re-use glass, but how much energy does it take to recycle?
- The process of collecting, sorting, melting, reforming glass is much more than simply creating new glass.
- So recycling glass is more to reduce public litter of broken glass, which used to be a real problem, than for the environment.
Glass is just melted sand which is everywhere anyway. There's no point in collecting it to recycle when you could just go get more sand. You save a little energy in the creation of it, but waste far more hauling it around. And if it gets broken and ends up in an ocean it gets it's edges worn down and turns into sea glass anyway!
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Some interesting facts (such as how some plastic is more often downcycled than recycled) and it's important to empirically question accepted narratives, but the conclusion from all the facts you present is clear: Yes, aluminium is better, especially if we further promote recycling. Switching from plastic to aluminium = less plastic produced + more bauxite mined *at first*. However, as long as the aluminium is being recycled, bauxite mining will reduce as the amount of aluminium in circulation approaches demand.
Also, this is not an example of the Jevons paradox, which is the realisation that a resource is used more as it becomes more efficient to use it. The original example was coal: as output increased for a given input of coal, coal-fired machines became profitable in applications where they weren't before, thus leading to more coal being burned. Another is the use of the Internet: as connection speeds increased, rather than content ourselves with sending emails more quickly, we moved on to social networking then TH-cam then Netflix and now cloud gaming.
I still don’t get it. Why buy single use bottles when you can get steel bottles and use it for years. Many of them are thermally insulated to keep the content cool or warm for many hours, so it is also functioning better.
Tokiomi Tohsaka convenience. People forget to bring their water bottle or they haven’t bought one or they don’t care.
Jarred Lima I get people forgetting to bring one, it happens... But about the don’t care part, even if someone doesn’t care about the environment they would still benefit from using a steel or a glass bottle because they can use it for years and it would be more economically sustainable as well.
@@tokiomitohsaka7770 bruh maybe if you live in western developed country you can refill from tap water but if you live in developing country like mine you have to buy either a gallon of water to refill or buy a plastic bottle
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Finally a video that was fair and balanced on the challenges of waste. This is how we change things, not overhyped dooms day predictions or head in the sand either.. but balanced discussion over the positives and negatives form options.
*aluminium. "Aluminum" was a typo in Webster's Dictionary that was only realised after it had gone to prints. All other metals in the group follow the -ium principle....
In 1808, Sir Humphry Davy identified the existence of the metal in alum, which he at first named "alumium" and later "aluminum." Davy proposed the name aluminum when referring to the element in his 1812 book Elements of Chemical Philosophy, despite his previous use of "alumium."
the whole world uses aluminium.... and metric 😂
@Dan Pharr
I swear I learn more from this channel than my science courses from high school
Found you early this time
Just Some Guy without a Mustache I don’t know why the don’t use this channel to help with the curriculum
Might need to pay attention more😂
Mandingo not really, I learn so much more on the internet than a lot of my classes, other than math and English. But when it comes to sciences, the internet is a very good place to learn
Here in Portugal we recycle a great percentage of glass. Of the three options I think it's the best in terms of beverage containers recycling
'A great solution is hemp plastic. It's biodegradable and comes from this plant.'
Texas has a ban on those. I hate living here.
Biodegradable plastic is sadly not the same thing as compostable plastic, I think they should elaborated on this.
@@cacamunja From what I've gathered, the main difference is time and the end product. Biodegradables take hundreds of years and compostables take months. Both process use microorganisms to break down the material, but certified compostables leave no toxic byproducts and can be used for nutritious soil.. The pre-describe plant might fit the bill.
Mexico has it with cactus
Here in Italy I see compostable plastic made out of corn, unfortunately there are not many brands who use it.
We always forget the process REDUCE-REUSE-recycle.
The best single-use product is NO single-use product! Instead of us focusing recycling, focus on the most important "R": REDUCE! If you're going to buy any kind of container, glass is your best bet. It'll last forever and doesn't leach anything into the environment or your food and it's one of the easiest things to recycle (can be melted and turned back into glass).
but will anybody recycle our glass or will it just be thrown away and mine the environment with sharp shard?
So many apartment complexes don't even recycle at all. That's a large population chunk missing from the cycle. I'm down in Tucson, AZ.
I am grateful for the fact that chemistry class gave me a thought process along the lines of the video's content
Great video but there are a couple of misleading omissions:
1) as many already pointed out, there is always a polymer coating inside the can, as aluminum itself is not suitable for storing any acid substance, thus, pretty much every kind of food or beverage. That layer is very thin but prevent thin cans from being reusable.
2) bottles made of recycled glass are that few not only because of the costs involved, but mainly because... it's not needed, as they can be reused straight away, that is way more environmental friendly than recycling. Glass can be reused indefinitely.
"an aluminum container can can become a can again"
Che triste !
Yes can, you can be can again
Matty your pun is too labored. you tried to be coquettish.
... aluminium**
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I like how they can questions and criticise of every solution but yet to provide any useful answers to the problem.
It should be a Federal law that all products containers should be Recyclable.
re sealable cans are available. No idea why they are not on the shelves world wide yet? Anyone?
@@terrybiker2625 Cost
this is quite abnormal
Aluminum or plastic?
Reject that premise. Turn on a faucet and get a glass of water for a fraction of a penny.
*Aluminium or aluminum* is the biggest question.
*But does it really matter* is the second biggest question.
Aluminium is the correct name for the metal and the chemical element "Al". There are trade names for different alloys made from aluminium with specific mechanical properties and chemical compositions.
And yes the name does matter. If someone uses the search function to maybe find a scientific article and the author used the wrong name "aluminum" the article might not be found.
@@hiimapop7755 *yes it does matter* See my other reply for an explanation.
It'd be great if there were more options in stores like reusable water bottles, and maybe a fee/tax on single use items like plastic forks, bags, spoons, water bottles, ect.
And perhaps glass bottles / reusable options that have no tax / that can be returned and reused.
I've switched almost entirely to using my thermos for water consumption on the go. However, I'm keeping a handful of aluminium water cans on-hand for if I need them for a reason (give to someone, take where I wouldn't want to lose my thermos, etc). 🤷
I don't get what your trying to say. What do we want to do then?
In my head progress is replacing less good options with the best realistically avaliable always the way to go.
Stop recycling, start reusing.
Sadly aluminum soda cans have a thin plastic liner inside them. 😪
Why ?
@@CalebCWalker It's called soda, not pop!!! lmao j/k
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The actual underlying problem is waste sorting. Before you can recycle, you need to sort, separate and decontaminate. If plastic containers are much less diverse, let’s say we only permit to use PET and require additional stuff to be easily removed say non-sticky paper label only. And make the container with clear marking for optical analyser to pick them out at recycling plants. Then we will have a easy way to recollect a single type of plastic. Then targeting the recycling of 1 specific type of plastic will be much more commercially viable.
I think for the rare cases you actually need bottled beverages, single-use PET bottles are just fine. Which can also be recycled by the way.
My country recicles 95,5% of its Aluminium!
Luiz Nicola and your amazing country is???
@@williammarston1861 I believe it might be Brazil (?). Surprisingly it had a recycling rate of 98.2% in 2009.
Thats a breakfast
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3:23 does anyone know what that water is called? I'm from Austria and I've never seen this can before.
I love these videos, guys, you do great researched.
Why does it feel like everyone is ignoring hemp?
Because mass production of hemp-based containers requires massive amounts of land, water, and nutrients that could otherwise go towards food production
@@prairiepanda Most of the produced food is thrown away.
@@Flederratte then leave the land in its natural state, instead of destroying it to produce things we don't need.
@@prairiepanda Exactly what I would like to happen. Stop overproduction of food by not wasting food and leave the land with natural forests.
Instead of leaving valuable natural forests the ecosystem is destroyed by cutting or burning the trees to create farm land which is not even needed. Then monocultures of plants are grown to feed animals only to have an overproduction in plants and meat which is thrown away.
@@prairiepanda That is exactly the point of using hemp.
Aquaman: Let's drink water from a can and ( help me to be richer in my new investment, can maker factories) save the planet.
The shaving in the middle of it made his message about canned water seem disingenuous...
The professor clearly doesnt know what he is talking about. "Workers at recycling plants can be harmed" .. ofcourse they can. Workers in the manufacturing of polymers (plastics) are harmed too because of canorgenic additional product in the plastics. But he doesnt seem to know that.
I'm surprised that in all of the issues addressed in this video, the plastic that lines aluminum beverage cans was not one of them. I'd imagine that makes recycling aluminum that much harder. I'm also surprised alternatives to single use beverage containers like multiuse beverage containers (which can still be constructed from aluminum) were not presented as alternatives.
glass may not be recycled, but they do not even have to melt it, they just clean the bottle
And glass also is recycled. The people who bring it to recycling just must not mix different colors off glass or put ceramic objects into the glass recyceling.
Just.. just say Aluminium. Please.
Could you make a video about the plastics that cannot be recycled? And How to identify them?
I think people tend to forget that the most important parts of reduce reuse recycle is REDUCE and REUSE. I buy Coke and when I’m done with it I *shocker* refill it with water. Ya know what I don’t need to buy often? Bottled water.
Pretty informative and objective!! Nice work
Stop using single use items in large quantities!!!
Growing up in Norway in the 90s and 2000s our soda came in thicker plastic bottles that had obvious signs of wear. We handed them back in and they were reUSED, washed, relabelled and sold again.. Then around 2010, they changed to thinner plastic bottles that were always 'new' and though we still hand them back in, they are just crushed right away and recycled. I think the argument at the time was that transporting and washing the bottles when whole was expensive and polluting lots. There isn't enough talk of reuse of good plastic products.
Now a days we use 7 R! The first and for me more important is Reflect, as ponder; second Reject; third Reduce; fourth Reuse; Recycle; Reallocate and finally Reclaim!
Great video! The production quality and editing is fantastic. And Justine is a great narrator! If I could provide some feedback, I think the story could use a little more explanation towards the end. When Dr. Lepawsky is talking about recycling aluminum as an industrial process, I'm left wanting to know how it compares to recycled plastic in 2-3 sentences. I also want to know what the dangers are for recycled aluminum laborers in a sentence or two. This information would make clear exactly what the paradox of switching from plastic to aluminum is. Since the paradox involves only coal, I don't know how a switch to aluminum from plastic would make anything more efficient; thereby creating Jevon's Paradox. It would be really helpful have information to compare to peak coal mining in order to translate how changing the variables in the paradox from coal to plastic or from coal to aluminum. Then the video would make more concrete sense. I feel left in the abstract ether of science without answers to these items. But overall, great video!
The paradox basically says that making usage of things more efficient means that more of it overall is used. Take gas prices. We all know people drive less when gas prices are higher. But when gas prices decrease, many people will drive more, whether by getting a job further out, or just making more frequent trips, or just taking joyrides. In many cases, people will drive far more than the drop in prices would suggest, meaning more driving overall, as people who otherwise wouldn't drive at all now start driving due to it being cheap, and people who wouldn't drive that much are now more willing to take more frivolous trips, and companies now offer services they wouldn't have before, such as 2 day shipping (since you can afford to make more frequent, less efficient trips), or expand the scope of previously limited services, like offering incredibly cheap delivery (since the cost of delivery is low enough now that it is easy to either eat that cost or pass it onto consumers). Uber Eats and Amazon Prime shipping would not exist in a world of more expensive gas prices (and even places like the EU have historically low prices).
The same is true of aluminum. If aluminum products are cheaper, this means that consumers of aluminum might use it not just as a substitute for plastic drink bottles, but also use it in places they never would have used it before, such as aluminum walls or making all aluminum furniture cheap and commonplace, and if these overall costs of producing raw aluminum are reduced so much, it means companies might start using aluminum in other new and novel ways that increase the demand far more than if it was only ever used as a substitute for disposable plastics. If that demand were so much higher, then that means that recycled aluminum would not easily keep up with demand, causing new aluminum production to ramp up, and meaning aluminum could have an even higher impact than plastics ever did.
@@nihouma11 aluminium has always been used in a wide array of industries and in very large quantities. It's especially popular for aircraft and small to large boats/ships(most really big transport ships are still steel). The amount of aluminium used in one large passenger ferry would be more than every can used in a major city. It's also used to make many machines and cars, along with cheap dinner wear and household appliances. It's already one of the most commonly used materials we have and one of the reasons for that is that it's so easily recycled. The cost to produce new aluminium is still fairly high, but recycling old aluminium is amazingly cheap.
Will Aluminium Cans Replace Plastic Bottles? ……,…….,……
..........
th-cam.com/video/GD9_OTeBL9o/w-d-xo.html
So you're saying we invented highly advanced, synthetic plastic polymers just to go back to a natural metal 😂😂😂
Aluminium metal also is not a natural material.
Great video on an important topic! Another thing about aluminium cans is that the lids and the small circle connecting the can to the opener have additional metals added to them, while the "body" of the can is 100% aluminium. Since the "body" of a can needs 100% aluminium, the different parts should be separated to enable them being used in new cans again.
Recycling rates in Australia are 65-67%. 5th largest producer; Australian company's are looking at hydregon as a greener methods.
All aluminium cans contain a inner plastic layer...
@@MartiensBezuidenhout Yes they do.
@@MartiensBezuidenhout Yes they do. Otherwise, the can would desolve slowly and even more aluminiom would find it's way into your drink and food.
@@MartiensBezuidenhout Which doesen't makes a difference at the end.
ALU-MINI-UM !
CHUT-UP go back to UK.
@@shasmi93 you mean the rest of the world? 😂
i´m from austria we have one of the best tap water qualities of the world.
Most people i know buy water in bottles.
Reusing plastic is a reasonable idea, here in the Netherlands we can give the coke/sprite bottle back to the supermarket and get the deposit back(same as glass beer bottles). Companies wash the bottle,stick a new sticker , fill it with the drink and send it back to supermarket! Its still plastic, but not single use plastic!
surprise to see my university in anything XD
Just use glass!
It may not be able to be recycled well but the reason for that is it naturally breaks down into nonharmful substances very quickly. Would be good to see a video talking about it's production and any downsides.
@@jayflight5351 glass will persist for million of years before it naturally break down and large amount of energy is require to create glass
Aluminium can will rust so shorter shelf life of canned food without plastic coating, but its much better on the longer run because metal is 100% reusable(not the plastic lining or paint in the can)
Plastic bottle is plastic, not good
@roy k the material that glass breaks down into isn't harmful if it enters the food chain the way aluminum and plastic are.
Will Aluminium Cans Replace Plastic Bottles? ……,……........,……
th-cam.com/video/GD9_OTeBL9o/w-d-xo.html
Come to think of it does anyone know of a proper way I can dispose electronic waste ? Like a website or any company ??
It's really scary. I elementary school I was taught to buy drinks in reusable bottles rather than cans. Now since these are disappearing more and more I'm told to at least use cans instead of throwaway bottles.
Repeat after me: ALOO-MIN-YUM 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
ephphatha230 🙏🏽😎😎Yes!!
Not this weird ALOO-MEE-NUM 🇺🇸
I’m learning more on TH-cam then I used to go to school lol
do you want some cat video link ? :)
This was super interesting, thanks for making the video.
Aquaman doesn't want plastic in his ocean
3:48 is that twice as much energy per drink container, per pound, or?
6:53 it's awesome
Wtf
Bring back glass bottles might help?
I think a regulatory agency needs to make standard packaging laws that make the producer responsible for the entire lifecycle of the container. Companies currently produce plastic products in a way that make them difficult to recycle, although if they were responsible for the end stages of packaging they would ensure it was easily recyclable.
Mine landfills for aluminium
When a science channel can't pronounce aluminium
This video made me think of an interesting question.
Why do we charge a deposit on recyclable containers; but, charge no similar fee on non-recyclable containers?
I know the intent is to incentive their recycling; but, this makes them appear more expensive (and less attractive) than non-recyclable options. It also produces no incentive for curbside recycling (them recycling option used the most) since you don't get your "deposit" back when you curbside recycle. Maybe the deposit is actually backfiring and with a shift to curbside recycling, the approach needs to change.
Does anyone know what the deal is with glass? It's supposed to be easily recycled, but hardly anybody does, it seems.
The Same “ It’s Complicated” can be said about Electric Cars for being More Environmentally Friendly than Combustion Engine.
It can be said for glass as well even.
Electric cars no matter what are better than a ICE car, even if its energy is coming from coal its still better.
Batterys for energy storage in electric cars is a bad idea.
Technologys like fuel cells for hydrogen or methanol to power a car with an electic motor are way better.
Also fuel made from plants is a good idea.
@@Flederratte all of these solutions you proposed are hugely inefficient, a battery is 99% efficient from energy generation to movement, hydrogen is what 20% and bio fuels are even worse. These options become even worse when you look at how the majority of methanol and hydrogen is made, both heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
ALUMINIUM
agreed. ALUMINUM
Can we start using mud pots ets something like this example like Bambu etc
You could also use Magnesium over Aluminium. Microsoft use a magnesium alloy for the surface line. It's quite eco-friendly.
consume less...
The Romans left a literal mountain of discarded amphoras, we leave plastic... it's just what humans do...
One important aspect that I think has been missed out by them is the toxicity of aluminium.
Aluminum cans have plastic in them because of the negative effects of food contact with aluminum directly, it will always be a bandaid fix.
Use the brain instead 😄
No aluminium
No plastic
Use 💀😄
Bro then you'll be drinking soda out of somebody's arse
Danish AKHTAR hmm
American? Aluminum
European? Aluminium
Indonesian? Alumunium
Hotel?
Trivago
(Okay, you got me)
After watching the video my question is if I have to buy cocacola and I can choose to et a can or a plastic bottle, what should I choose? ( I know that the best is not to buy, and normaly I try reusing but sometimes it's impossible)
Recycelt contant of glas is between 60 and 90 %.
why would you need bottled or canned water anyway in a developed country? your tap water is perfectly fine. just get a reusable bottle like a retap or a hydro flask. save money, save the planet.
*aluminium
Actually it depends
The technology to break down PET bottles to monomers exists so it is possible to make new bottles out of old bottles. However its not yet economically competitive. If we scale up and develop these technologies further in combination with better waste management it would be way betten than using aluminium. As long as we prevent it from entering ecosystems, plastics are not the problem als long as we don't burn they even sequester carbon if the source is bio-based instead of fossil.
we need to automate recycling to reduce damage to the workers?