At long last, it looks like our two-decade affair with the disposable
water bottle may finally be coming to an end. With increasing media
attention being paid to the environmental impact of all those plastic
bottles, as well as increased scrutiny of the perceived superiority of
bottled water, it is now becoming the hip, eco-friendly thing to tote your
own reusable bottle filled with good old-fashioned tap water.
Jenny Powers, a spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense Council,
says that the disposable plastic bottle has become a sort of poster a
child of environmental degradation.
"Roughly 70 percent of water bottles – probably more – wind up in
landfills or incinerators," Jenny says, noting that recycling rates for
plastic bottles are far lower than for other beverage containers (due to
the on-the-go nature of the product, and also because of deposit-return
laws that were enacted before the advent of the plastic bottle). That
appallingly high figure takes on an even more frightening aspect when you
consider that we Americans consume 50 billion plastic bottles per year.
"That's 170 bottles per year for every man, woman and child in America,"
Jenny says.
Factor in the energy needed to make all those bottles, as well as the
energy required to ship them from point A to point B, and you hold in your
hand a not-so-refreshing bottle of environmental disaster.
art by Bronwyn Lundberg
But it isn't eco-concerns alone that are driving this trend away from the
plastic bottle. As it turns out, your tap water is perfectly clean. In
study after study, bottled water has been proven to be no cleaner than tap
water, and has the added disadvantage that it isn't nearly as well
regulated as your tap water. Also, if you estimate that a bottle of water
costs about a dollar, your tap water is thousands of dollars cheaper.
And then of course there is bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound found
in the disposable bottles that could be disruptive to the body's hormone
levels. Though not as alarming as some media reports, an April 2008 study
by the National Institutes of Health concluded that "the possibility that
bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed."
So what's the health-conscious, eco-friendly boy or girl to do? The
answer: go to your local outfitter or other retailer and check out the
ever-growing selection of reusable beverage containers. From stainless
steel to BPA-free plastic, there are hundreds of choices for whatever
situation requires rehydration.
For backpackers and outdoor athletes who have been filtering water and
reusing water bottles all along, it's never been easier. The Vario filter
by Katadyn, for instance, pumps two liters of water per minute and has a
replaceable carbon core.
Chris Glaser, a manager at Benchmark Outfitters in Cincinnati says that
sales for the new containers – stainless steel and BPA free – have been
brisk. "A lot of our water bottle sales have been influenced by all the
reports of BPH on the news," he says. "We can't keep the products in
stock."
Jenny of the NRDC is glad people are beginning to take a new look at the
plastic bottle. "I don't think people really considered the environmental
impact of bottled water," she says. "It just wasn't on their radar – and
now it is, which is great."
* * * * *
This article comes to Culture Change readers courtesy Get Out Zine:
getoutzine.com
The good ship Junk -- made of 15,000 plastic trash water bottles -- is on her way from Long Beach to Hawaii, to highlight the important findings of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation:
junkraft.blogspot.com
View the awesome video "Say No to Plastic Carrybags" by Ramjee:
ramjeenagarajan.blogspot.comFurther Reading:
Culture Change reports on plastics, plus links to other groups such as Algalita, producers of the award-winning documumentary "Our Synthetic Sea":
culturechange.org. Additional reports:
"Encountering plastics in the Caribbean" by Jan Lundberg, Culture Change Letter #182:
culturechange.org
"Plastic disaster breaks through to mainstream: scandal over bisphenol-A" by Jan Lundberg
Culture Change Letter #180, March 22, 2008:
culturechange.org
"U.S. Presidential candidates' staffs briefed on peak oil and the plastic plague" by Jan Lundberg, Culture Change Letter #178
culturechange.org
"Overpopulation, vegans eating plastic, and the housing bubble" by Jan Lundberg, Culture Change Letter #117:
culturechange.org
Ceramic filter (to avoid more plastics): gaiam.com
Culture Change mailing address: P.O. Box 3387, Santa Cruz, California, 95063, USA, Telephone 1-215-243-3144 (and fax). Culture Change was founded by Sustainable Energy Institute (formerly Fossil Fuels Policy Action), a nonprofit organization.
Some articles are published under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. See Fair Use Notice for more information.
