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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report confirms PET plastic bottles are better for the environment than aluminum cans or glass bottles.

Read the Report Executive Summary

NAPCOR partnered with Franklin Associates to examine the environmental impacts of beverage bottles and cans in the United States. The result is a Life Cycle Assessment report that provides fact-based, science-driven evidence that concludes, when compared to glass and aluminum, PET plastic delivers significant environmental savings across several key environmental categories.

Energy iconEnergy Consumed
Greenhouse gas iconGreenhouse Gas Emissions
Water iconWater Consumption
Acid rain iconAcid Rain
Smog iconSmog
Eutrophication iconEutrophication Potential

About the Report

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report is a scientific method for evaluating the environmental benefits and trade-offs for the entire life cycle of a product—from raw material extraction through material production, use, reuse, or recycling, where applicable, and final disposition. This LCA examined some of the most commonly used beverage containers for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and still water. The study compared PET plastic, glass, and aluminum and underwent a rigorous, independent, and thorough peer review process that verified the methodology and findings over an eight-month period.

Key Findings

  • PET plastic bottles produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions
  • PET requires less energy to produce than its glass and aluminum counterparts
  • Beyond PET’s beneficial reduction of global warming, PET plastic bottles also create less solid waste, use less water, and generate fewer emissions detrimental to air and water quality during production
  • The total lifecycle impacts of a PET beverage container are better for the environment than glass or aluminum
  • PET beverage container systems, accounting for the largest share of U.S. CSD and bottled domestic still water sales, compare favorably with the predominant aluminum and glass container systems for these applications
  • Glass bottles have the highest impacts for most environmental metrics evaluated, followed by aluminum cans, then PET bottles
  • All comparisons of PET CSD bottles with glass bottles and all comparisons of PET water bottles with aluminum cans show PET being better in most environmental impact categories

LCA Resources

  PET Carbonated Soft Drink Comparison
  PET Water Bottle Comparison

Other PET Resources

  Recycling Works Flyer
  Myths & Facts Fact Sheet
  Aluminum and Glass Fact Sheet
  PET 101
  PET by the Numbers
  Thermoform Fact Sheet