Mariana Trench - Beer Bottle Found on the Deepest Point of the Ocean
In Dr. Dawn Wright underwater research to explore “a previously unknown area” in the Mariana Trench, she did not know what she would find.
After descending 6.7 miles in a two seat submarine to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, she came across something very well known to almost all of us:
A Beer bottle!
How deep is the Mariana Trench?
For those wondering, and to put things in a better perspective, the Mariana Trench is a total of 35,814 feet deep. Sitting at the bottom of the deepest point of the ocean, a beer bottle seems to be in almost perfect shape.
The story recently went viral on social media, with people on Reddit saying they were in disbelief to find litter in the ocean’s depths.
One of the comments said: "You know if this isn't sort of the most depressing and realistic image we have seen.”
When asked, Dr. Wright said, “This discarded trash had managed to reach an unsullied part of our world before we actually did—a symbol of how deeply and irrevocably humans are affecting the natural world.”
“Further evidence that we MUST as humans, do BETTER by the ocean and for the health of habitats that we ourselves share & ultimately depend on,” Dr. Wright wrote.
The need to tackle glass and packaging waste has never been more critical than it is now. The report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted that the continued rise in global temperatures will have severe consequences, such as more frequent heatwaves, droughts, and floods. The production and disposal of materials used for packaging are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, which exacerbate the climate crisis. Glass, in particular, has a notorious track record for contributing to global warming due to the extremely high temperatures and energy required for its production as well as for its recycling.
Despite the beer industry’s efforts to reduce packaging and glass waste and promote recycling, unfortunately, it remains a serious issue to address in order to save our planet. In fact, alcoholic beverages alone contribute 0.6% of the Global Warming Potential impact, with packaging accounting for 40% of a beverage’s total carbon footprint.
Let’s explore!
If we assume that flying by commercial plane causes an average of 10 kg of CO2 emissions per mile, the global CO2 emissions from glass production, which is estimated to be 95 million tonnes, is roughly equal to the emissions from flying 9.4 billion miles on a commercial jet.
If we consider the weight of a typical glass bottle to be around 500 grams, then 12.3 million tons of glass generated in the United States in 2018 would equate to approximately 24.6 billion glass bottles. If you lined up 24.6 billion glass bottles end to end, they would stretch over 28 million miles, which is more than enough to circle the Earth more than 1,100 times.
Solution: A more Sustainable World
To create a truly waste-free world, we need to address the problem at its source by eliminating the generation of waste. One way to do this is to promote the use of reusable kegs for beer. Unlike bottles, kegs can be reused multiple times, making them a much more sustainable option in the short and long run.
By switching to reusable steel kegs for draft beer, an average sports bar can save over 13,000 pounds of single-use packages from ending up in landfills. Not only does this help the environment, but it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by around 5,000 kg of CO2 equivalents, equivalent to providing electricity to a home for over 6 months.
Deloitte’s life cycle analysis for The Steel Keg Association found that steel kegs in the US prevent six billion single-use containers from becoming waste each year, conserving enough energy to power the average American household for over a year!
Pubinno’s Environmental Report shows proof that “Using bottles for the same amount of beer logistics results in more than twice the carbon emissions compared to kegs.”
When Compared: Keg Beer - Bottled Beer
Considering the energy consumption of these devices, the use of refrigeration systems generates emissions at least three times higher than those of the keg cooling system. Beer bottle consumption leads to a carbon footprint that is approximately 150% higher than that of keg beer consumption. When comparing keg beer consumption, the carbon emissions from the classic beer tap begin to surpass those from the Smart Tap after approximately 493 liters of beer have been consumed. - the study shows.
Let’s do our part in creating a more sustainable future by choosing reusable kegs for our beer!
