I was looking for a new water bottle, and noticed that almost every store everywhere in Switzerland has a large selection of metal water bottles, some don't even have plastic. Why?
I've always been used to plastic ones, never even knew about metal ones (well, I had a metal canteen in the military, if that counts ). I bought one and gave it a try, but I hate the way you can't squeeze it, and the water just kind of dribbles out as a result.
I read some study somewhere said plastic bottles, when warm/hot may emit some cancer agents into the water, is this the reason? If so, I can't recall the last time I drank warm/hot water from my sports bottle (who wants to drink warm water when playing sports anyway?) Or is it because SIGG is a Swiss company, and are promoted heavily here?
...anyway, just curious, any comments/thoughts welcome...
Why have plastic when there is a suitable metal alternative ?
Plastic consumption is best kept to a minimum... Nasty stuff really. Unavoidable but we should really begin to use sustainable recyclable degradeable alternatives. I think the Swiss are a bit ahead of the game in this respect.
The reason is much more simple: Switzerland is very traditional in some areas. For example mechanical watches (while everybody knows that the cheapest quartz watch is actually more precise). Same is true for the bottles. They are not some metal bottle, but SIGG bottles . They have been made out of metal before plastic was even invented. They are some national thing just short of the reputation of the "army knife".
It's harder and more costly etc to recycle plastics...
Here's the Wiki...
When compared to other materials like glass and metal materials, plastic polymers require greater processing to be recycled. [citation needed ] Plastics have a low entropy of mixing, which is due to the high molecular weight of their large polymer chains. A macromolecule interacts with its environment along its entire length, so its enthalpy of mixing is large compared to that of an organic molecule with a similar structure. Heating alone is not enough to dissolve such a large molecule; because of this, plastics must often be of nearly identical composition in order to mix efficiently.
When different types of plastics are melted together they tend to phase-separate , like oil and water, and set in these layers. The phase boundaries cause structural weakness in the resulting material, meaning that polymer blends are only useful in limited applications.
Another barrier to recycling is the widespread use of dyes , fillers , and other additives in plastics. The polymer is generally too viscous to economically remove fillers, and would be damaged by many of the processes that could cheaply remove the added dyes. Additives are less widely used in beverage containers and plastic bags , allowing them to be recycled more frequently.
The use of biodegradable plastics is increasing. If some of these get mixed in the other plastics for recycling, the reclaimed plastic is not recyclable because the variance in properties and melt temperatures. [[1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling#cite_note-0)
Pretty much any plastic bottle is made with plasticizers-- lower molecular weight chemicals added to the polymer to give it that nice quality you describe: they make plastics softer (in the case of water bottles, conveniently squeezable).
Many of these plasticizers have been found to be estrogen mimics, and thus have the ability to mess with your endocrine system. The level to which that occurs is still under contention. Basically if you are not planning to have kids don't worry about it, if you're a pregnant mom think twice. Most plasticizers are only physically-- not chemically-- integrated with the plastic so they do leach out over time. This happens faster if the liquid is heated, but can also happen if you leave water in the bottle for a long time. So if you prefer plastic, just make sure the water you drink out of it is 'fresh.'
Incidentally, the inside of SIGG bottles used to be coated with the same stuff (a compound containing bisphenol A) but were removed a year or two ago when a lot of governments began to consider a ban on the use of BPA.
A couple summers ago I stopped by the Sigg factory in Frauenfeld, went to one of the doors and asked the worker if they have any 'scratch and dent' rejects for sale. He gave me a box of 6 perfect bottles all original designs.
Very pleased with that catch. (although I am a plastic waterbottle user).
I can't figure Sigg out; they used to make lots of really nice kitchen equipment and now it's just the bottles. The Sigg line of pans are some of the best I've used, and that's comparing them to uber expensive Al-Clad. The bottle market must be huge.
We have a metal pitcher for the stove made by Sigg. It's great and we would have bought more when we were ready to replace our pans, but we couldn't find any.
In 2003 Sigg did the Coop promotion for pots and pans and I heard they were really over subscribed and Sigg had trouble trying to meet the orders. I have the complete set, plus some extras.
The Sigg metal bottles are great for kids and have saved us a small fortune by taking drinks with us everywhere. Water stored in a plastic bottle tastes like plastic after a few hours. The lids also go a bit green after a few uses, but Sigg bottles can go through the dishwasher.
Plastic bottles can leech chemicals like bisphenol-A whereas metal ones do not. And if the bottle starts to smell a little musty you can sterlise with a tablespoon of white vinegar and boiling water which is something you can't do with plastic.
A number of companies (such as Nalgene and Camelbak) now offer BPA-free plastic water bottles. There is a lot of information on BPA on the Nalgene website and the pages it links to:
I second the use of metal bottles, I wouldn't use extra acidic drinks in them if they are aluminum, though. SIGG was not ahead of the game at all, the bottles were great, trendy and all, but as said, did contain Bisphenol-A lining inside. It was the Canadian gov that banned import and sale of these bottles first, that made SIGG rid of the lining, and only a year or so ago, which was quite late. Other govs put pressure later on, too.
The plastic bottles leak, especially if washed or "sterilized" as somebody put it by hot water. Same goes for plastic BPA baby bottles, they are especially dangerous if the milk in it is hot or people wash them in the dishwasher on hot cycle. The hard plastic sport blueish bottles, that are meant for re-using, unless they clearly say they are BPA free, always contain plastic softener agents. Same goes for unsafe plastic containers that get shoved in microwave ovens.
We replaced all our tupper wear and plastic tubs and kid plastic things with BPA free stuff, glass or metals. It only makes sense, it is cheaper, too. I grew up mostly without disposable crap, cotton, linen, glass and metal, so it is nice to somewhat go back in time, plus it's more esthetic. Plastic is cheap and ugly.