Why are Plastic Water Bottles so Bad?
It was recently revealed that as of 2018 we have just 12 years to reverse the damage we have done to our planet before the consequences are irreversible. Climate change is terrifying and it exists whether you 'believe' in it or not – and the amount of plastic waste and litter we produce and throw away on a daily basis has a huge part to play in it.
Did you know approximately 50 billion bottles of water are bought each year and of those, about 80% end up in a landfill. It takes an estimated 17 million barrels of oil to produce bottled water each year and approximately 3 litres of water to produce 1 litre of bottled water.
It's not all down to Plastic Bottles
Of course not. Industrial pollution, car fumes, single-use plastic such as cotton tips, cling wrap, coffee cups and plastic bags – all of it is harming the environment. Plastic bottles, however, are a single-use item we could really live without. Imagine that you drink three bottles of juice or water a day and then imagine everyone in your family does too. Everyone in your street and everyone in your town – then times that by the world’s population! That's a whole load of plastic bottles that aren't biodegradable and that don't have anywhere to go after their single-use except to landfill or our oceans.
What Plastic Bottles actually do to the Environment
Plastic bottles may eventually break down but they will last 450 years or more in our environment. They are one of the most prevalent and unsightly forms of plastic pollution and are found in our soil, rivers, creeks and oceans, killing countless animals and marine life. In Australia the majority of the problem lies with marine life. All animals that micro-filter through the water ingest up to 90 pieces of plastic in an hour according to this article by ABC News. The article also shows some horrific photographs taken by a diver off the coast of Bali. He found a plastic floating island that had disappeared by the next day – but that is still out there somewhere. International newspaper, The Guardian, have also composed a report on the amount of plastic found on the Nerang River.
Bottled water isn’t any better
While many people believe that bottled water is safer to drink, this simply isn’t true. The federal government does not mandate that bottled water is any safer to drink than tap water and there is even speculation over some brands using tap water in their bottles anyway.
And if it’s the taste of tap water that puts you off, you can simply install a filter to your tap at home. We have one in our kitchen and it’s the best tasting water you’ll find!
What can we do?
The most terrifying part of all of this is that most of it could be avoided if we all made one simple change. By switching to a reusable water bottle you are literally saving the environment every time you use it. If we all made this switch we could reduce plastic waste by approximately 3 million tonnes a year – and that's not to be sniffed at. We all have to start reducing our own, individual impact on the planet but we need to do it on a mass level. So let's all get our reusable bottles today and save our planet (and our pockets) one use at a time! There are many options to choose from; the most popular being food grade stainless steel bottles. You can get them insulated, or single layer stainless steel; large or small so they can fit in your handbag; with carry handles or without; various drinking spouts. The options are endless.