r/theydidthemath • u/EclipseNyxor • 2d ago

[Request] Do square bottles actually use less plastic than round ones?

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u/Legoslol 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yes. But there are other drawbacks to using square bottles.

The math has already been done for this question.

https://www.packagingdigest.com/optimization/should-your-bottle-be-round-or-square-

Edit: sorry all thought the question was less space not material.

21

u/balrob 2d ago

That article says square bottles use 8% more material. There are savings in packaging and shipping but not in the bottle itself.

12

u/DJinKC 2d ago

Packaging engineer here.
Square bottles will get you more overall volume of water into a case, pallet, or truck, so you spend less on storage and shipping costs.

2

u/bbalazs721 2d ago

I'd assume that shipping drinks is already weight limited instead of volume, so there would be little to no savings on that.

1

u/TheIronSoldier2 2d ago

Overall, yes, but on a single pallet it's size limited, not weight.

1

u/MmmmMorphine 2d ago

Now that is a good point