Dive into the fascinating process of 'How Glass Coca-Cola Bottles Are Made: Automated Glass Bottle Manufacturing Factory' in our latest episode.
This video takes you on an in-depth tour of the glass bottle manufacturing process. From the collection of raw materials like silica sand and soda ash to the intricate methods of melting, molding, and blowing that transform these elements into the iconic cola bottles we recognize.
Witness firsthand the precision and expertise behind each step, from cutting molten glass into uniform gobs to the meticulous quality control ensuring every bottle's perfection.
VIDEO HERE (6:20 minutes)
The problem with glass bottles is that the process of recycling the bottles became a legal liability. In the early days, when you emptied a bottle you put it back in the case and when the case was full of empties, you took it back to the store for a refund. This nearly guaranteed relatively clean and undamaged bottles. My grandfather's 3rd Coca-Cola bottling plant, he was a bottling plant owner who started out as a delivery boy, stopped using recycled bottles because they faced too many lawsuits to defend against re: purported foreign matter in the recycled bottles.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know!
DeleteI always thought Coke, etc, tasted much better in Glass Bottles. Must be because that is what I grew up with in the dim, dark 50's
ReplyDeleteThat also could be that it used to be made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup.
DeleteI'm only speculating on what I've heard because all that came before my time.
I think the cane sugar soda tastes better than the corn sweetener one.
DeleteI've heard that Mexican Coke still uses cane sugar. And the product sold during Jewish holidays, identified with a orange bottle cap.
DeleteLook for Mexican Coke. Glass bottles and still made with cane sugar. Sam's Club had them by the case, but when they went up over $20 for a 24 bottle case, we stopped buying them. The Mexican store down the road has them for about $2 a bottle, so if I have to have one, I'll pay the extra.
DeleteOccasional childhood outing that never got old was the "Co-Cola" bottling plant in my hometown. Street level windows provided a view of the bottling process ... including occasional bottles that fell off the conveyor.
ReplyDeleteAlso worth mention that "bottle hunts" were a periodic source of pogey-bait income for kids - redeemed at two-cents each. At 5-cents each, a big time find were quart size ginger ale bottles. All parties benefitted; the neighborhood was tidied up, our corner grocery sold us the pogey-bait we scarfed up.
What I find most interesting about this video is the complexity of the machinery involved. I consider myself to be pretty adept mechanically but this machinery makes my brain hurt.
ReplyDeleteVery standard blow molding line, big but not terribly complex. Most form/fill/seal packaging lines have a greater variety of mechanisms. As does any steam power generation station. My reaction (after decades in the consumer pkg goods industry) was that this was a very superficial, uninformative look at what goes on- almost comic book level of lack of detail. The two minute tour. The commentary was asinine.
DeleteIf those were COCA-COLA bottles, they've sure changed since I last held one. Generic glass.
ReplyDeleteSo no more than 7% of plastic is actually recycled? I honestly had no idea. Been dutifully rinsing, sorting and separating recyclables for decades, thinking that the separate collection of recyclables and trash meant that they were going to different facilities for processing. How disappointing to learn that nearly all of it ends up in the same place.
ReplyDeleteI think they should start up a glass factory in Iran....
ReplyDelete