The culprit, of course, is that little bit of plastic that keeps lids attached to bottles. The new design has quietly snuck onto the soft drinks aisle over the past couple of years. If you believe its detractors, this tiny but unwelcome addition to the packaging has turned a relatively straightforward process – grab bottle, remove lid, sip and enjoy – into a high-jeopardy activity.
One social media user branded this development “the worst thing to happen to humanity since the removal of the headphone jack [on smartphones]” – hyperbole, of course, but one that perhaps sums up the outsized consternation with which this change has been received in some quarters. Will you drench yourself in front of your colleagues if you dare take a gulp of water during an important meeting? Or will you simply funnel liquid all over your laptop? The possibilities are endless. The correct way to describe a lid like this is “tethered”.
The design can be traced back to a European Union directive that was initially proposed in 2018 then officially adopted the following year, with a deadline put in place: from 3 July 2024, the EU stated, caps on all non-returnable plastic drinks bottles with a capacity of three litres or less must stay attached after opening. The purpose was not to collectively infuriate thirsty Europeans, but to tackle a serious problem: plastic waste. It’s estimated that we produce around 400 million tonnes of the stuff worldwide every single year.
Plastics break do.