Surveying the beverage landscape, I'm seeing a lot of beverage companies segue from glass containers to plastic containers, which might prompt some people out there to wonder, "Aren't they RUINING THE PLANET!"

 Everybody knows that Glass is super recyclable, right?  And therefore a more environmentally sustainable packaging than plastic?  Plastic which is running mother Earth with its fossil fuel abuse and it's icky processing, and is filling landfills, and I'm pretty sure is killing the dolphins, or at least the manatees, right?

 Boy, is being a manufacturer in this day and age hard.  How do you do the math of environmental impact right now?  Sure, plastic has its problems, but glass has terrible impact as well.  It may well be easier to recycle, but it's a LOT heavier, and therefore more costly to ship (i.e. it burns more gas getting places).  And a recyclable bottle's only recyclable if someone actually, you know, RECYCLES it...

I'm humbled by the difficulty of making good choices in a world full of lesser evils.  We use plastic bags in hopes of encouraging better eating, hopefully leading to more productive people, less health care expenses, and higher quality of life for our customers.  But it's still plastic.  Will the "end" result, calculated 1,000 or 1,000,000 years from now, add up to an over-all benefit?

This is one thing that keeps the progressive minded manufacturer awake at night.  Sigh....