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Perhaps Richard Girard, a corporate researcher for the Ottawa-based Polaris Institute, says it best. “This movement is gaining momentum because the general public is starting to figure out bottled water is a scam,” he says.
Each day, American’s consume approximately 200 billion gallons of water. On top of that, each year more than 10 billion plastic water bottles end up as garbage in landfills. As the US population increases, the demands on our water resources continue to increase. This puts a strain on our environment.
But there is a way to make a difference and impact this growing trend.
Purchasing water filters and reusable water bottles can lead to reduced plastic water bottle waste. Your average water filter can replace approximately 3000 16oz plastic water bottles saving you and the environment. You are saving big money by filtering your own water and you are saving the environment by eliminating plastic water bottles from the landfill.
It takes 15 million barrels of oil per year to make all of the plastic water bottles in America, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Sending those bottles by air and truck uses even more fossil fuel. Once people drain the bottles, they rarely recycle them because they’re often purchased at big concert venues or airports with no recycling bins. CRI says eight out of 10 water bottles end up in the landfill. The bottles that drift from landfills or end up as litter in streams are washing out to sea to form a huge raft of plastic debris in the center of the Pacific that is estimated to be twice the size of Texas.
It takes 1,000 years for plastic bottles to break down, CRI estimates. States could add deposit bills that would increase recycling efforts, but few have taken the initiative.
And if you think just refilling your empties will solve the problem, it won’t. Consumers aren’t advised to reuse store-bought bottled water, or even plastic bottles made for refilling due to dangers of leaching chemicals. Research shows that clear bottles made of polycarbonate plastic (such as the original 32-ounce Nalgene) can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disrupting chemical that acts like estrogen in the body. Since BPA has been linked to low sperm counts and an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, scientists suggest avoiding reusable bottles made from plastic. They also raise serious concerns about the potential for other plastic chemicals to leach out of typical PET bottled water bottles, especially if they set in the hot sun.
Some of the best refillable bottle options come from the stainless guaranteed-not-to-leach SIGG bottles made in Switzerland. The trend away from bottled water may also boost sales of home filters.
Water quality experts say most tap water is fine to drink straight from the faucet, especially in cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, New York City and Denver, where water comes from pristine mountain reservoirs.
So buy a bottle and a filter here - and save the planet one landfill at a time.
