Branded Litter

[Hamaki]

I saw a voluntary recall notice today regarding certain runs of Corona Extra that may contain glass particles. http://www.cspnet.com/category-news/beverages/articles/constellation-issues-corona-extra-recall It made me feel a little smug, somehow, and reminded me of a thought I often have regarding craft beer vs the other stuff.

I live in the country and often find litter along the roadside on my property and I see it on others when I go for walks. A lot of it is beer cans & bottles, mainly BMC. I've never seen a craft beer container and I'm fairly sure that I've seen enough that, if littering rates are equal among craft and non-craft beer drinkers, I should have seen something. I assume, therefor, that the rates are not equal and that "we" are less prone to litter than "they" are. Anyone else notice this trend? Google found a couple of "branded litter" studies in the UK & Australia but did not come across anything similar in the US. I'm curious whether there's any data to validate my egotistical impression.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I believe that part of the reason is that 'we' save the bottles for refilling since they are usually not screw top. But if you think of it, craft style beers are not really made for the road beer guzzling and chucking of containers unlike the more light (or is it lite) offerings?

 

[Homercidal]

Or, BMC is just consumed at a VASTLY higher quantity, making the odds of seeing it on the side of the road MUCH more likely...

In our state, the only bottles you see are thrown from the cars of teenagers drinking the cheapest thing they can get their hands on. If it were legal for them to be drinking it, they would save it for the deposit money.

 

[Hamaki]

I found a recent Texas study that included the top 20 brand names (all products) where a brand was identifiable. Bud light was #1, Marlboro #2, Coca Cola #3, etc. Seven of the top 20 were beer brands, all BMC. I didn't see an analysis on how market share of each beer brand compared to prevalence in the litter study. Another study says that craft was 5.7% of total market share by volume for the US in 2012. I'm no statistician but my gut tells me that out of the thousands of beer cans and bottles I should remember seeing Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada at least a few times unless there are significant factors at play. Points mentioned are valid but I also think those who spend more for a higher quality product are probably more inclined to put out more effort to maintain the quality of their surroundings.

 

[Hello]

That could be true but I'll go back and echo Homercidal's thought process as to why you see BMC on the side of the road more so than say Sam Adams. Kids aren't spending $14-$20 on a 12-pack of SA to drive around country roads at night. They're spending that cash on quantity.

FWIW, I have walked out on the parkway a number of times a week and I have seen at least one Sierra Nevada bottle on the side of the road. I don't see much litter, this own does a decent job of keeping it clean, but I've seen it.


As for the article, volume packaging can lead to disasters like this. It can and has happened in craft brew but I think the rate that they bottle means they can pay a bit more attention.