Glass bottle, aluminium can, plastic bottle - which is best for sustainable drinking

AndrewJRenko

All other things being equal, which container choice minimises the harm from my drinking habit?

I'd be guessing that the can is the best option - lightest, high recycling rates.

Am I right?

Capt'n Midnight

Probably.

AFAIK since Irish Botttlers closed down our glass isn't recycled here. And back in the day milk bottles used to only get ~20 trips despite being collected from the doorstep.

Might be different though when the deposit scheme comes on line.

Kaybaykwah

Quit drinking. It’s a bad habit.

gossamerfabric

PET bottles have extremely high recycling levels in Germany due to the Pfand: 97%

source: https://www.swr.de/wissen/1000-antworten/wer-profitiert-wenn-pfandflaschen-nicht-zurueckgegeben-werden-100.html

energy inputs for forming plastic are tiny compared to Aluminium or Glass.

Robert333111

Glass:

The best type of food/drink container is likely to be glass, bearing in mind though that in making glass, a significant amount of energy is required and where this energy continues to be what I will refer to as "dirty-energy" (that which produces "Human Greenhouse Gas Emissions" "HGGE"), this will inevitably also result in "HGGE".

Aluminum:

While this is often seen as the best alternative, it comes with significant possible health implications.
Quote: 'One concern with aluminum cans is that they might leach aluminum into their contents. Too much aluminum can cause aluminum toxicity [...]
[Many] aluminum cans [...] are lined with bisphenol A, or BPA. It's an additive that's designed to keep the aluminum from spreading to the food or drink stored in the cans. Unfortunately, it's also been linked to cancer, problems with brain development, disruption of the endocrine system, and reproductive disorders. [...]':
I'm not yet allowed to post Links, but you can find the latter quote in your search engine, by searching (without the quotes):
"isitbadforyou AND Are Aluminum Cans Bad For You?"

While it has not yet been proven that intake of Aluminum (for example in the product one drinks from aluminum cans) causes Alzheimer's disease, scientists are still considering this possibility:
Quote: 'Research […] reveals that:
1) very small amounts of Al [Aluminum] are needed to produce neurotoxicity and this criterion is satisfied through dietary Al intake,
2) Al sequesters different transport mechanisms to actively traverse brain barriers,
3) incremental acquisition of small amounts of Al over a lifetime favors its selective accumulation in brain tissues, and
4) since 1911, experimental evidence has repeatedly demonstrated that chronic Al intoxication reproduces neuropathological hallmarks of AD [Alzheimer's disease].
Misconceptions about Al bioavailability may have misled scientists regarding the significance of Al in the pathogenesis of AD. The hypothesis that Al significantly contributes to AD is built upon very solid experimental evidence and should not be dismissed. Immediate steps should be taken to lessen human exposure to Al, which may be the single most aggravating and avoidable factor related to AD.'
You can find the latter quote in your search engine, by searching (without the quotes):
"Aluminum and Alzheimer's disease: after a century of controversy, is there a plausible link?"

(Another significant intake of Aluminum into the body is from roll-on deodorants.)

Plastic:

Plastic products whether as containers or any other plastic product, when disposed of, now contaminate the land in many countries and also the oceans, while in their manufacture use energy that produces "HGGE", and in their disposal either fill up land-fill sites, or produce significant "HGGE" when incinerated, or produce "HGGE" when recycled to make new plastic.

Quote: 'In 2015, emissions from manufacturing ethylene, the building block for polyethylene plastics, were
184.3 to 213 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent […]
This packaging can be processed in three different ways: landfill, incineration, or recycling.
Waste incineration has the largest climate impact of the three options. According to the CIEL report, U.S. emissions from plastics incineration in 2015 were
5.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. […]'.
[My emboldening.]
You can find the latter quote in your search engine, by searching (without the quotes):
"How plastics contribute to climate change"