Why are plastic bottle caps now attached?

By now you’ll probably have had the experience of opening a cold beverage and discovering that something’s…different. As of July 3, 2024, as part of the European Union’s 2019 Directive on single-use plastics, all plastic drinks bottles up to 3 litres are now sold with tethered lids.

We know some people have found this change frustrating! But there’s a very good reason. So much plastic ends up as litter on land and in the ocean. Plastic caps are among the top five most harmful ocean trash items. Anything that can reduce the number of plastic caps in the ocean is a good thing – and that’s what the design change does.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
Even when people do their part and recycle both the bottle and lid, there’s plenty of chance for a small lid to slip out into the world as waste is moved and processed at various stages across multiple locations and even countries. Worst case (and unfortunately, in a lot of cases!) the two plastic parts are simply littered directly either by consumer or illegal waste management practices. As a result, millions of plastic lids end up polluting oceans and landscapes daily.

When the lid is tethered, there are half as many items to recover from the environment. And a bottle plus lid is a bigger object, making it easier to spot and also less likely to slip out of any transit or process in the first place.

Although a European law, the initiative is expanding globally – brands are seeing the environmental sense and economy in the change.

Something to think about next time you crack open a cool drink!