The world hungers for sand that makes solid concrete. The shape of the sand grains matters - in making concrete. Making glass melts the sand, so grain shape is irrelevant.
Also, you can just make sand. "Sand" is just an aggregate size, it can be easily manufactured in a crusher, and often times in construction manufactured sand is preferable to natural sand anyway.
I like the idea of switching back to glass. But we should be aware of the increased environmental costs of shipping all that mass. A glass jar is heavier than plastic and requires more energy to move it.
If the economy was all about shipping empty jars this point would be more salient than it is when the weight of a glass jar full of liquid and a plastic jar full of liquid is comparable.
A plastic object usually bounces when dropped or rapped. Glass cannot always do that, and if it shatters the shards are sharp and dangerous. Shipping and using are both potential sources of breakage. The cost/benefit decision must include safety as well as recycling and manufacture.
I'd love to switch back to glass. There's plenty of sand in the world and glass is inert. It's also not at all damaging to the oceans.
"There's plenty of sand in the world"
You'd think that, but... https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191108-why-the-world-is-running-out-of-sand
The world hungers for sand that makes solid concrete. The shape of the sand grains matters - in making concrete. Making glass melts the sand, so grain shape is irrelevant.
Also, you can just make sand. "Sand" is just an aggregate size, it can be easily manufactured in a crusher, and often times in construction manufactured sand is preferable to natural sand anyway.
I like the idea of switching back to glass. But we should be aware of the increased environmental costs of shipping all that mass. A glass jar is heavier than plastic and requires more energy to move it.
If the economy was all about shipping empty jars this point would be more salient than it is when the weight of a glass jar full of liquid and a plastic jar full of liquid is comparable.
A plastic object usually bounces when dropped or rapped. Glass cannot always do that, and if it shatters the shards are sharp and dangerous. Shipping and using are both potential sources of breakage. The cost/benefit decision must include safety as well as recycling and manufacture.