tethered bottle caps: good or bad idea?

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Nowadays you cannot buy any plastic bottle without having that type of cap

I think this was an idea for ecology because of how many caps are being littered around (and easily lost) but on the other hand I don't think this would solve the issue (you can still rip them or having people throw the bottle in nature).

I think that metal caps were cool (as inconvenient they were to remove and how you could no longer put them back on the bottle).

 

[NotReallyHere]

All plastic bottles are bad ideas.

All plastic caps are bad ideas.

If you must buy single-serve water, go aluminum! Many beverage companies now offer water in cans, or in aluminum bottles with twist-off aluminum caps.

If these companies really cared about ecology, as OP mentioned, they would do away with plastic entirely. But that industry and lobby is so strong. So many needless plastic single-use items on the market.

My local fast food joints used to use paper cups, up to only a few years ago. Now they're all plastic. And for why? Most of them never leave the restaurant, and just end up in the trash, anyway!

Apologies for the rant. I live on the coast, and always see so many bottles and caps on the beach whenever I go for a walk in the evening. And cigarette butts - which are also full of plastic! But that's a rant for another time

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

Nowadays you cannot buy any plastic bottle without having that type of cap
View attachment 125001
I think this was an idea for ecology because of how many caps are being littered around (and easily lost) but on the other hand I don't think this would solve the issue (you can still rip them or having people throw the bottle in nature).

I think that metal caps were cool (as inconvenient they were to remove and how you could no longer put them back on the bottle).

These days, good luck finding a plastic bottle without one of those tethered caps. The idea is clear enough, meant to cut down on litter by keeping the cap attached, but I’m not convinced it actually works. People still rip them off or simply throw the whole bottle away. Intent doesn’t always translate to impact.

And honestly, I miss the old metal caps. They were inconvenient, sure, hard to pry off, impossible to reseal, but they had character. That crimped edge, that satisfying pop, it was part of the ritual.

 

[Clippy]

If anyone cared about the environment we'd go back to glass bottles with metal caps for everything. Unfortunately, that would be bad for the bottom line of our corporate overlords so it won't happen.

I find tethered caps to be nothing more than an annoyance and I tear them off as soon as I open my bottle of water. Unlike an apparently growing number of people I was raised not to litter so the argument of this whole tethering thing somehow helping is completely lost on me. I feel like this idea stemmed from some stupid bureaucrat's need to justify the existence of their job moreso than anything else.

 

[MajesticSiN]

I've never seen these before.

 

[Adrastia]

I've never seen these before.

Are you in the US? I don't think we have them here. I've never seen them.

 

[MajesticSiN]

Are you in the US? I don't think we have them here. I've never seen them.

Yeah, that probably explains it.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Those belong to cooking bottles like Oil or sauce, not to water, bottled water is a waste of resources anyway, buy a rerfillable cup and pick a water cooler instead

 

[ThunderBoy]

I prefer the "Porrón"

 

[CheesyExplosive]

deal with it

 

[ZEGA ZONIC]

I think I prefer to put my water in a reusable bottle

 

[RageBurner]

Metal over plastic any day, but on the off chance? untethered screw caps.

 

[Tonberry]

If it means like even 1% less littering I'm for it.
I've never been inconvenienced by them existing so I don't mind it at all.

Though this is just for like soda bottles or whatever drinks you buy in the store that way. We don't use those at home here as recycling plastic bottles is as common as taking out the trash where I live.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Metal over plastic any day

 

[Luz de Luna Luz de Luna Luz de Luna's icon]

They are not a bad idea on their own, they just don't solve the problem that brought them into existence... In fact, I think they make it worse because people just rip those and then generate even more plastic waste in the process.

Metal caps on glass bottles was much better, but also included its own set of problems.

 

[trickybus]

(Tethered caps are weird and as an aside, everything tastes off when bottled in plastic)

 

[RageBurner]

View attachment 125146

(Tethered caps are weird and as an aside, everything tastes off when bottled in plastic)

So very true.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Metal caps on glass bottles was much better, but also included its own set of problems.

If it was for me I'd say that metal is the best material.

View attachment 125146

(Tethered caps are weird and as an aside, everything tastes off when bottled in plastic)

It's funny yet still true, microplastics are everywhere and even if you don't drink in a plastic bottle there are still traces.

 

[RandomHajile]

Being a yankee, I've yet to encounter one of these. However, I carry a pocket knife with me everywhere I go, so if I do, I'd just cut the connecting plastic off and use the cap normally or just toss it.

Honestly, I never understood how this solves anything. We should be stopping our use of plastic entirely. Glass and aluminum may be more expensive, but it's healthier for us and the environment, and easier to recycle.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Being a yankee, I've yet to encounter one of these. However, I carry a pocket knife with me everywhere I go, so if I do, I'd just cut the connecting plastic off and use the cap normally or just toss it.

Swiss knives are convenient for removing metal caps off glass bottles too. Sadly it's getting risky to carry one (for "security" issues as some could say) but I always felt like everyone should have a way to open metal caps and tin cans all the time.

Honestly, I never understood how this solves anything. We should be stopping our use of plastic entirely. Glass and aluminum may be more expensive, but it's healthier for us and the environment, and easier to recycle.

Agreed, aluminium isn't perfect either but still better.