Say No To Plastic Water Bottles

Water. We need it. But do we need to be drinking from plastic water bottles? Unless there is something very wrong with your municipal water or you know your well water is contaminated, there is no reason to drink bottled water. Bottled water has become a money making industry. It usually is the very municipal water you think you’re avoiding by buying tap. So you’re spending several dollars on something that is actually free.

Not only is bottled water not necessary to buy, there are all of the eco-implications of the actual bottles. Think of the energy used to make those bottles, fill them with water, and then transport them. Sure, most places recycle the plastic most water bottles come in (PET #1) but many of those bottles wind up in the trash or in the gutter, not in the recycling bin. And they take 1,000 years to break down in a landfill!!

According to a new report by Food & Water Watch nearly half of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is tap water which companies put in plastic water bottles and sell at huge profits. Tap water’s share of the bottled water market grew from 32.7% in 2000 to 47.8% in 2009 (the rest is spring water), according to the group, which based its analysis on the bottled water industry’s own data. In all, 2.5 billion gallons of municipal tap water, which taxpayers pay to treat, is bottled and sold for $1 (or often much more) per gallon, when the same municipal tap water typically costs a penny or less per gallon … and is conveniently delivered to your home.

For years, there have been raising concerns about bottled water: Not only do bottles end up littering the landscape, and not only are those plastic bottles derived from fossil fuels, but they also may leach chemicals into water and the quality of the water is not stringently monitored.

Choose instead to purchase a stainless steel reusable water bottle and fill it up at home. If you prefer the taste of filtered water, purchase a convenient water filtration system that attaches to your faucet.

Please think twice before you buy your next plastic bottle of water. The planet will thank you.

Why we love it!

If your shopping for just the right reusable water bottle, we think we found just the one. Check out S’well bottles.  They merge style and function with environmental and social consciousness. They make great gifts too and for every S’well bottle sold, 10% percent of the proceeds are donated to WaterAid, a non-profit organization that for the past 30 years has been working to deliver water solutions to world’s poorest communities. Every bottle sold provides almost a year supply of water for someone in need, and every five bottles sold provides a lifetime supply.

Now that makes good water sense!

Visit their website today: swellbottle.com