I know they’re supposed to be good for the environment. But… Holy smokes they drive me up the wall. They really do!

I had no trouble adapting when aluminum can pull-tabs got replaced by push-tabs, because it was pretty much the same movement, and I could see the immediate advantage of not getting cut by a pull-tab.

But the tethered cap is fighting decades of muscle memory in me: I’m used to taking the cap off with one hand and keeping it there while taking a swig with the other. Now I unscrew the cap with one hand, but I still have to hold the cap so it’s out of the way. It feels like drinking in handcuffs each and every time…

So unlike the pull-tab, the tethered plastic bottle cap is one of those compulsory eco solutions that constantly make you feel ever-so-slightly more miserable all the time, and I hate that because ecology only works when it brings something of value both to people and to the environment.

    • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16·
      9 months ago

      You can, but there’s enough plastic to make it non-trivial, particularly if you don’t want to risk destroying the cap.

      They definitely mess with your muscle memory, both when opening it, and drinking from it.

      • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.orgOPEnglish
        9·
        9 months ago

        I tried to take them off a few times until I realized it was on purpose and not a manufacturing defect.

        The problem isn’t the force it takes to rip it off: that’s easy enough to do. The problem is that the now-free cap has sharp edges that really hurt, and the plastic bottle now has an annoying dangling plastic tail.

    • ArbitraryMary@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      9 months ago

      When they first introduced these, my brother thought it was a defect and ripped it off. It leaves a pretty sharp bit of plastic behind and he cut his hand when he screwed the lid back on. I get the idea behind them (it’s so you have to recycle the cap along with the bottle) but there’s got to be a better way than this. It makes it a pain to pour a drink or drink directly from the bottle.

      • settoloki@lemmy.oneEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        Pour it from the opposite side to where the cap is attached. That way the awkwardness of pouring the liquid over the attached cap is a none issue. I can only assume that’s what you’ve been trying to do.

        • ArbitraryMary@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          I’ve not been trying to pour the drink over the cap, no. It’s just fiddly and you have to make sure the cap doesn’t flap back over the bottle while you’re pouring. I can’t be the only person who finds them inconvenient in this respect? Surely there’s a better way of keeping the cap attached without it getting in the way?

          • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
            2·
            9 months ago

            It’s just fiddly and you have to make sure the cap doesn’t flap back over the bottle while you’re pouring.

            The new-style tethered caps I’ve seen over here latch in the open position, no dangling no flopping.

          • settoloki@lemmy.oneEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            Perhaps it’s the make of the bottle the ones I’ve seen (mainly coke zero and iron bru) don’t seem to get in the way, dangle or inconvenience me. The only awkwardness is closing the bottle again, you need to give it a little tug to align it right before closing it. I have to trust that if it even stops 1% of the damage we are doing to the planet then a little awkwardness is acceptable. Because every little helps. I could easily argue they are not doing enough elsewhere before inconveniencing me, but at the same time we all should be doing everything we can to turn back the damage we are doing to the planet, we all live here afterall. Unfortunately not everyone thinks that way so we need to attach bottle tops and drink through paper straws.