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Tethered plastic caps

I know they're supposed to be good for the environment. But... Holy smokes they drive me up the wall. They really do!

I had no trouble adapting when aluminum can pull-tabs got replaced by push-tabs, because it was pretty much the same movement, and I could see the immediate advantage of not getting cut by a pull-tab.

But the tethered cap is fighting decades of muscle memory in me: I'm used to taking the cap off with one hand and keeping it there while taking a swig with the other. Now I unscrew the cap with one hand, but I still have to hold the cap so it's out of the way. It feels like drinking in handcuffs each and every time...

So unlike the pull-tab, the tethered plastic bottle cap is one of those compulsory eco solutions that constantly make you feel ever-so-slightly more miserable all the time, and I hate that because ecology only works when it brings something of value both to people and to the environment.

mryessir ,

Detach one side of the cap by twisting.
This allows turning the cap down to the bottle neck.
You can then hold the cap out of the way and the bottle with one hand.

Colour_me_triggered ,

You can still remove them if you apply enough force.

MacStache ,

Oh, ok. Then there's no problem, I guess?

/s

rickyrigatoni ,
@rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee avatar

Pretty much, yeah.

Talia ,
@Talia@feddit.it avatar

I'm so happy I can fight my bottle when I want to drink, the solution could have been to have aluminium caps like for the glass bottles or even to switch to only glass bottles but noooo, let's use more plastic to make sure people wrestle with their beverages

rickyrigatoni ,
@rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee avatar

acting this dramatic about a little piece of plastic is embarassing dude, stop posting

RememberTheApollo_ ,

I get why they’re there. But I don’t like them because you now need to orient the bottle in such a manner you aren’t sticking your nose in the cap. Not such a big deal for small soda bottle tops, but I like kefir and some sport drink tops are huge, and that makes it pretty damn annoying to work around and now you’ve got this cap resting on your cheek sometimes.

Bruncvik ,
@Bruncvik@lemmy.world avatar

I saw it for the first time last summer. Did a little reading, and according to the news articles, it was a EU directive, but it had been heavily lobbied for by Coca Cola. If I remember right, all EU countries should have implemented the necessary legislature by June this year.

I personally just tear the caps off. Can't get used to them.

hdnsmbt ,

I'm convinced those do very little for the environment. There was some really smart executive at the plastic bottle company who made this up so they can charge more from beverage companies.

olutukko ,

They are making a ton of similar laws already. So the bottle caps alone might not do that much but those all laws combined are doing a lot

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Unless we remove plastic from the environment entirely, this is the smallest band-aid available on a massive gushing chest wound.

crapwittyname ,

Yup. This is the last vestiges of the diminishing returns of the doomed strategy of blaming consumers for climate change.

Misconduct ,

Whaaat? Nooo. Remember that time we banned straws and it was gonna be the big push we needed to start real change but then everyone just predictably patted themselves on the back and did basically nothing ever again? 😀

Malidak ,

Even better. All the bottling and filling machine manufacturers could sell expensive upgrade packages for the beverage companies to even be able to work with the new caps. In our case we even had to completely retire two older machines because there are incompatible and buy new ones.
Great for the environment for sure.

Linkerbaan ,
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

This is genuinely one of the most amazing inventions of the last decade. Now you never lose the cap and you don't have to hold it in your hand.

I can't believe anyone thinks this is not amazing.

Black616Angel ,

I have cut my lips twice on these fuckers. Also just this week while pouring milk, the cap somehow slipped right under the stream and spilled the milk everywhere.

Who loses their bottlecap?

Also this makes it harder for kids to drink from bottles, since they can't put their whole mouth around.

I hate these shit stains with a passion.

I am 99% sure, thia was all just a PR stunt by some bottle company. If they really wanted to do something for the environment, they would go for glass bottles again, since they can be recycled forever.

Linkerbaan , (edited )
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

You can bend them out of the way and they don't break off I find that really useful.

Especially for bottles and cartons that are poured into a glass.

Black616Angel ,

Yes and if you bend them out of the way, some become sharp and I poured a carton of milk. So no, I to not like them.

To each their own except I have no (real) choice.

Linkerbaan ,
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

This really needs to be polled. I'm curious what opinions are

Paper straws are unanimously awful but I am a huge fan of the attached bottle caps.

Geth ,

The cap doesn't stay where you put it, usually is still a bit wet from the liquid and that drips on your face when you take a sip. If you have facial hair, you have to navigate your way around the cap as well.

I'm not against the idea in principle, but the implementations have ranged from mildly irritating to unusable for me.

Linkerbaan , (edited )
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

Maybe I don't drink from small bottles enough but even then I just turn them out of the way.

I find it intriguing how people have such different experiences with it.

Ultraviolet ,

Oh, that's intentional? I just assumed it was a manufacturing defect where the perforation doesn't quite detach the cap from the ring.

acetanilide ,

Same ... But i also don't drink many of these bottles so maybe that's why

MilitantAtheist ,

Just twist it the fuck off

ThunderComplex ,

This isn't possible. Every time I tried that it leaves behind 2 nasty & sharp plastic prongs. I've found no way to avoid that. And they can't even be removed, I tried with pliers and a lighter and some sharp plastic spikes will inevitably remain.

Lorindol ,

The caps must be made of different plastic in my country.

When I came across first attached cap, I just ripped it off clean without thinking twice. No problem whatsoever.

I have never discarded a bottle without screwing the cork back, but I guess many people do. Why they would do so, that I cannot fathom.

JudahBenHur ,

jesus christ

this is what you think about: the little plastic points on your plastic soda bottle from where you tore the plastic cap off

ThunderComplex ,

I know, right? Talk about first world issues

boatsnhos931 ,

Never noticed, cut top off the bottle with my limited edition Tenchu katana. I show no mercy

Maggoty ,

Plastic needs to die. There's no point in designing a cap that goes into recycling reliably when we know recycling plastic just gets dumped in third world countries.

Pyr_Pressure ,

I don't understand why soft drinks are even sold in plastic bottles anymore. Cans work perfectly fine. Sure you might want to re-seal the lid or something but if that's the case just buy a reusable drink container.

pewgar_seemsimandroid ,

plastic is cheap i guess?

Maggoty ,

Ding ding ding. Yet again we're paying for their externalized costs.

rbos ,
@rbos@lemmy.ca avatar

Aluminum cans are great but still use a plastic lining, so I'm not sure overall whether it comes out better. You still get microplastics.

jol ,

PET bottles are actually the most recycled or their plastic upcycled. But yeah, needs to die.

lud , (edited )

Yeah, PET is great for recycling.

Here, 87% of all PET bottles are recycled.

JudahBenHur ,

wherew is that? come on dude if youre going to flex on your country's recyling rate with a specific percentage write the name of the dang country please

lud ,

I live in the Nordics which all have a pretty good recycling rate overall.

JudahBenHur ,

the just started doing pfand return here in ireland for cans and plastic bottles, but not glass bottles (we throw those into a bottle bank)

lud ,

Pant is great.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Maybe, but PET still contributes to the microplastics problem and I wouldn't be surprised if the recycling process adds more PET microplastics to the atmosphere so they can be carried around the planet.

Cringe2793 ,

Wait this is new? It's been around since I was born (which is not as recently as y'all might think). Maybe it's just the country I live in.

Kiwi_fella ,

Aha! So that's the thing. I'd been wondering why suddenly bottles and juice containers are farking annoying to open. And it's global! I'm happy it's for good reasons but the bit of my brain that gets annoyed by it wishes there was another solution.

TheProtagonist ,

I had no idea that this is a global phenomenon.

Muscar ,

How are people having problems with these? They're better in every way, you gotta be dumb as a brick to have any issues with using them.

Honytawk ,

The idea is solid, the execution is just awful.

If it had just a bit more slack, at least you will be able to close the bottle without having to jerk it. Add even a little more, and you would be able to drink from the bottle without it poking out your eye.

repungnant_canary ,

"Own brands" which are theoretically lower quality accidentally executed this idea much better - to cut costs they use less material for the "strings" which allows the cap to be placed not so close to the bottle

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