PET, the recyclable and food-grade plastic most often used for beverage bottles, is often criticised as the cause of the plastic waste that pollutes our environment.

As a result, there are various alternatives being touted to consumers, manufacturers, retailers, hoteliers and restauranteurs, including biodegradable and compostable plastics, cardboard or paper bottles or cartons, cans, and glass recycling or refilling.

But, the solution is not as simple as replacing PET with one of these alternatives, no matter what the people who sell them say.

This is South Africa, and we need to consider how these alternatives perform in a South African context, not Sweden, Germany, Japan, Australia or the UK and USA.

Please see our frank information about the green credentials of PET alternatives here.