They were all tried in the past - glass, metal etc - and were largely replaced.

If you think there is a new material out there that we are prevented from using, I'd be interested to hear what it is.

They were replaced because the immediate cost for the selling company was way lower, because they just externalized the environmental cost on the the rest of the world.

But plastic was never "better". Remember that we had PVC all the places until we found out it was made with a carcinogen.

Some might say they were only replaced because it was more profitable for the manufacturers to use plastic (due to surplus of cheap oil), not for any actual qualities of the material as container for food and drinks and its environmental impact.

Glass, metal, etc. You forgot paper, actually. All are better than the plastic crap forced down our throats.