A bottle is a narrow-necked, rigid or semirigid container used to hold liquids and semiliquids, usually with a close-fitting stopper or cap. Bottles may be made of glass or plastic, and come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are used in a variety of settings, from homes to schools, restaurants and stores. Bottles are typically made of clear or translucent material so their contents can be easily seen. The term also applies to other kinds of containers, such as cans and jars.
Bottles are manufactured from four different materials: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a popular choice for water bottles; polypropylene, which is often used for pill bottles; polycarbonate, an ideal material for baby bottles and other reusable containers; and high-density PE or HDPE, a common choice for milk bottles, detergent bottles, and other types of rigid containers. Bottles can be shaped using several different manufacturing techniques, including reheat and blow molding, co-extrusion blow molding and injection molding.
Glass bottles are prized for their transparency and clarity, as well as the wide variety of shapes that can be fashioned into them. They offer excellent durability, a trait that appeals to huge retailers who are concerned about loss. The price of glass, however, can be prohibitive unless it is recycled and reused frequently. In the past, bottles were usually returnable, which lowered the cost on a per-use basis, although repeated handling costs could dissipate any savings.
Many people are concerned about the environmental impact of disposable plastic bottles, especially those that are not biodegradable or recyclable. The plastics used to make them are often derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. Many solutions have been suggested to reduce plastic waste, such as increased recycling, imposing bottle deposits and limiting the use of single-use plastics.
However, the most important way to reduce environmental harm caused by plastics is to decrease their usage. Bottles are the most common type of solid waste in landfills, and most of those end up in the oceans. Once there, they are carried by wind and ocean currents to large gyres of debris, such as the famous Pacific Garbage Patch. There, they break down into smaller pieces and enter the food chain.
Some manufacturers are experimenting with new plastics that claim to be less environmentally harmful. One such is biodegradable PET, which breaks down into monomers in the environment and can be remade into new plastic bottles. Until these technologies are proven to be scalable, reduced usage and recycling remain the best ways to mitigate the threat of plastic pollution.