Single serve juice flavored beverages package comparison
Beverages are sold in a wide variety of packaging formats based on their volume, content, usage, and audience, among many other considerations. Beverages are also heavy, requiring a package format that is robust enough to contain the volume without breaking during transport or usage. For this Life Cycle Assessment, the following popular beverage formats were evaluated: a flexible drink pouch and a glass bottle, which many incorrectly assume to be more sustainable.
Water Consumption
The flexible drink pouch, by far, has lower water consumption than the glass bottle because of the small amount of water required for the laminating process. The glass bottle uses large amounts of water during manufacturing as part of the cooling process.
Greenhouse gas emissions
The flexible drink pouch has lower overall greenhouse gas emissions because of its light weight and overall efficient material and manufacturing process. The glass bottle has significantly higher emissions than the flexible drink pouch because of the weight of the glass bottle.
Fossil Fuel Consumption
The flexible drink pouch comes out with more favorable results in fossil fuel consumption. The glass bottle requires more material to hold the same amount of product and has a more energy-intensive material production process.
Download the full FPA case study here.