Alternative packaging materials allegedly offer a range of advantages over glass containers and there is no doubt that some of these claims are justified. Even environmentalists will tell us that the plastic bottle has a better lifetime environmental footprint than glass because of its lower total energy content. Glass has many inherent advantages, but the glass industry sometimes appears to be very reticent in extolling the virtues of its material. We do not often hear comments from glassmakers about the result of storing drinks under less than ideal conditions in plastic bottles. There is no doubt that the glass industry, or at least the container producers, must learn to blow their own trumpet somewhat louder! Nevertheless, there have been some technical developments in the container industry in answer to the challenges of the market, reviewed in this paper.
