Plastic Inside Your Soda and Beer Can?

Yep, it’s true. Aluminum cans have a thin plastic liner that buffers the liquid from the metal. Why? Shielding the contents from the metal preserves both the taste of the drink and the integrity of the can. Don’t believe it? Watch this video!

And that’s not all. Check out your ice cream carton. Cut a piece and soak in hot water…..and voila!, a plastic liner. You can pick virtually any paper container that holds food, including takeout containers, and do the same test.

Is this making you crazy? Good. 

The plastics, chemical and packaging industries and brands aren’t lying to the public, they just aren’t being transparent (get the joke?). And they don’t have to be. There are no laws on the books requiring manufacturers to state materials used in packaging.

The good news is aluminum (and other metal) cans are still infinitely recyclable, despite being lined with plastic. The plastic liners in and on cans—referred to as lacquer in the industry—don't impact recycling. When the metal is heated to thousands of degrees for recycling, what is left of the plastic liner, the inks and UV materials, is separated and basically skimmed off, leaving the metal. Your paper ice cream carton, on the other hand, is sadly just landfill.

So what’s a consumer to do? The first line of defense is to stop or limit your purchasing of these products. You can also choose glass containers for beverage purchases or go out for a cone from Dairy Queen or Jeni’s! For takeout, use your own container where possible. If you use a coated container, only fill with cold or room temperature food to minimize chemical leaching.

Next, share this information with your community. Information is power, and consumers should use this information to inform their life choices accordingly. Tell your friends and family, write an op/ed or letter to the editor, post on social media, whatever you are most comfortable doing.

Join the Environmental Action Committee as we work to highlight issues like these and justly affect climate change with the ultimate goal of preserving democracy by maintaining the health of our one and only planet and all that lives on it. Email us at environment@lwvchicago.org for access to our next meeting on August 19 @ 4 pm.