Analysis

Umair Farooqi
Plastic soda bottles have a negative impact on the environment due to the plastic it is
made of. Plastic water bottles are not fully recyclable, which means that new resources are
required to make the soda bottles, and the old soda bottles are piling up in landfills or in the
oceans. Plastic soda bottles require coal and natural gas to create the plastic. Mining for coal and
natural gas releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, and burning of the coal and natural
gas also releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. The release of greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere causes global warming and climate change. The buildup of plastic bottles is also
harmful to plant and animal life and does not decompose, which damages the surrounding
ecosystems. Scientists estimate that there is more than 5 trillion plastic particles, weighing at
around 270000 tons, in the Earths oceans (Shultz 2014). This plastic is harmful to wildlife and
pollutes the oceans. Animals are dying after choking on plastic that they eat or due to the
harmful chemicals in plastic. A greener soda bottle must be created to preserve the earths
ecosystems and reduce climate change.
In order to create a more ecofriendly soda bottle, greener materials must be used in the
creation. Plastic is not easily recyclable, and it is not recycled into soda bottles. The plastic
recycled from soda bottles is often used to create a non-recyclable product, such as a pillow, this
means that more plastic must be made to create more plastic bottles. In order to solve this
problem, a more ecofriendly plastic could be used in the creation of the soda bottle. Instead of a
plastic created from coal and natural gas, a plant based plastic can be used in the manufacturing
of the product. Plastic created from renewable plants is known as bioplastic. Bioplastic is a
recyclable plastic, and since it is created from plants, it eliminates the need for fossil fuels. One
example of a bioplastic is PlantBottle by Coca-Cola. This plastic is made by converting the sugar
from sugarcanes into plastic (Biello 2010). The elimination of fossil fuels also eliminates the
greenhouse gasses emitted. A con to the use of bioplastics is that since bioplastic requires plants
in its manufacturing, it means that a large amount of plants will need to be cut down in order for
the production of bioplastic. This also raises greenhouse gasses since plants absorb carbon
dioxide. Since the plastic is created from plant based materials, it is not harmful to plants or
animals, so it doesnt damage the ecosystems. Another ecofriendly method in the manufacturing
of plastic soda bottles is to create the soda bottles from aluminum or steel. Aluminum or steel is
fully recyclable, so it can be reused to create new soda bottles. Although this will increase the
price of the product, it also eliminates the need to collect new resources for the manufacturing of
the product.
Transportation in the manufacturing of plastic bottles also releases greenhouse gasses
from the trucks or ships used. A way to solve this problem is to reduce the amount of
transportation required for the product. To reduce the transportation factories can be created near

major cities, and the product shouldnt be manufactured overseas, since this requires the product
to be transported far distances, which produces greenhouse gasses.
In order to reduce the negative impact soda bottles have on the environment is to improve
the collection and disposal of the product. Regular soda bottles require coal and petroleum to be
extracted from the earth and transported to factories. Although the only way to reduce the
greenhouse gasses and negative impact on ecosystems caused by extracting the coal and
petroleum is to stop extracting them, the greenhouse gasses produced by the transportation of the
coal and petroleum can be reduced. The transportation of coal or petroleum by truck or train
produces greenhouse gasses, to reduce theses greenhouse gasses you can limit the distance
required for the transportation. This means that the factories that use the coal and petroleum
should be located close to where the coal and petroleum is drilled or mined.
The disposal of plastic bottles has a negative impact on the environment. Plastic water
bottles can be recycled to reduce the amount of plastic in landfills and in the oceans. A strategy
companies can do to promote the recycling of plastic soda bottles is to offer a reward for
recycling the soda bottles. Companies can offer money in exchange for used soda bottles. This
will encourage people to recycle the bottles instead of throwing it in the garbage. Companies can
also educate the consumer on the negative impacts of throwing plastic in the trash in hopes of
convincing the consumer to recycle the bottle instead of throwing it in the trash.
The manufacturers of a product can only do so much to reduce the negative impact of the
product on the environment; the rest is dependent on the consumer. The consumer of the soda
bottle should recycle the bottle instead of throwing it in the trash. Recycling the soda bottle saves
the environment because it prevents the soda bottle from piling up in the landfills or oceans and
harming the plants, but it also creates a new product using the old material, which eliminates the
need for new resources being used. Since not all of the plastic is returned when it is recycled,
consumers should use re-use the soda bottles in other things, such as gardening or arts and crafts.
Also, consumers should replace the use of soda bottles with aluminum soda cans. Soda cans that
are made of aluminum are completely recyclable, which means that no new aluminum will need
to me mined to create new soda cans. This reduces the negative impact on the environment.