Anyone even semi educated or over 55 recalls that when they grew up, most items came in glass containers, containers that you were required to place a deposit, and return for a refund.
It's only recent history, that a non conservative society which values expediency at a price of disposability and non ownership for freedom has become the norm.
More than this, the recycle scam is finally being exposed, and not soon enough in my estimation.. Islands of plastic in the Pacific ocean, so that people in cities feel better about themselves while driving to and from yoga in their prius while finger wagging truck driving hillbillies in the middle of the country.
Meanwhile, mayors, local reps, and governors try to export the problems somewhere else while millenials look to the federal govt and the administrative state as their saviours, so nothing really has to get done. Cue the food/milk/bag/whatever delivery as a service folks. This has cash cow written all over it..
And that's before we even mention sachets. The very devil.
It isn't that simple though, I have relatives that worked for coke back in the glass bottle days and they would never drink coke from a glass bottle - they knew first hand how hard it was to get those bottles clean again. New plastic bottles and cans are always clean.
Sometimes the concentrated syrup will be transported to the bottling company; I think this is probably the usual case for smaller markets.
It can be done
Consider a neighbourhood where everyone has a lawn to mow. The lawnmover companies want to increase (not reduce) sales. So we end up with everyone having their own mower, which sits idle 95% of the time, instead of one community mower that's shared by neighbours. It's just a little example, but it extends to everything.
1. Everybody wants to mow at the same time
2. Community goods are often treated careless, leaving me with a dirty or non-functional mower when it is my turn
3. Who is responsible for repairs
Off topic, but when I bought a new mower last year, I couldn't believe how far the technology has come. No more primer bulb, starts easily on the first pull, and a few other items I don't recall off the top of my head. Same with cars, for example if you get out of it while it is still in gear it automatically puts itself in park, and it can limp home with loss of coolant (it fires every other cylinder pushing air through the others for cooling).
The neighborhood mower would cost 10x as much last just as long and serve the needs of 20 people - so a better deal in the long run. However what price are you willing to pay to not have to use the mower on your neighborhood's schedule - owning your own is probably worth it for you.
If the engine reaches a preset
over-temperature condition, the engine
automatically switches to alternating
cylinder operation. Each disabled cylinder
acts as an air pump and cools the engine.
When this occurs, your vehicle still
operates, however:
• Engine power is limited.
• The air conditioning system turns off.
Continued operation increases the engine
temperature, causing the engine to
completely shut down. Your steering and
braking effort increases in this situation.It doesn't really let you operate with no coolant. Might get you farther before you die if you push it.
Wow, this really cheered up my morning. Thanks.
And over the long run, sharing lawnmowers wouldn't even reduce total lawnmower production. The shared lawnmowers would run more hours per week and need replacement sooner.
This is only true if people fully utilize their personal lawnmower before discarding it. I doubt this is the case. It seems that sharing would result in less discarding of under-utilized lawnmowers, and thus reduce the number of lawnmowers needed. Of course, I'm not saying anyone should be forced to do this.
But, they're also a great example: we shouldn't have lawns which add nothing to the ecosystem and require resources to maintain.
[edited]
But plants are "weeds" and insects are "pests." So people spray neurotoxins, and see how much biodiversity they can destroy.
And most other non-carbonated liquids?
[1]https://www.horizon.com/faqs?f%5B5%5D=field_faq_category%3A9...
I do buy cheap wine in tetra boxes. They have a spigot to limit air-intake, so you can take your time to finish it.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Go to a developing country and the deposit on the beer bottle costs more than the beer in it. They are all clean and reused. Tons of countries charge money for plastic bags, or have even made them illegal. We need to catch up.