The life cycle, recyclability and sustainability of plastics used in mass manufacture of single use bottle caps within the UK drinks industry

Mass produced single use plastic bottle caps used in the UK drinks and milk industries were examined in this research paper. The main objective and purpose of the research was to assess the sustainability and circularity of the material with other potential food grade materials. Climate change, plastic waste, impact to health, environmental damage, dependency on oil is a great concern for future generations. The three pillars of sustainability metrics: environmental, economic, and social, were used in this research. The methodology used literature reviews, market research, vendor & supplier site visits, exploratory research, and life cycle analysis assessment studies. The research found that material selection & quantity had the largest impacts in the process for overall sustainability and circularity. The analysis showed when HDPE plastic was compared with other materials, recycled Aluminium caps were found the most sustainable overall for the materials assessed. Furthermore, significant sustainability and circularity gains could be made by simply switching from single use to reusable caps found in this research.