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Throw Away Your Last Plastic Water Bottle

written by riverstone on November 18th, 2007 @ 12:09 PM

Reusable Corn Resin Water Bottle w/ FilterIt’s amazing what has happened to bottled water. Once the hallmark of the healthy, those who rejected soda and sugary soft drinks in favor of more natural refreshment, H2O in convenient single serve plastic containers has become taboo on a number of fronts.

Despite many manufacturer claims of purity, a recent article cites a study indicating that up to 40% of bottled water sold in the US comes from public tap sources. I was willing to pay $1.29 per bottle for the stuff when I thought it existed for a few hundred years as pure glacial snow before it passed through my digestive system in a few minutes. But now, recent news has made me realize that not only am I getting ripped off, I’m also contributing to a nasty carbon footprint while doing it.

Let’s see…3-4 bottles per day at work, 1 bottle at the gym, a few more here and there. I’d say that I’m contributing about 1,000 bottles per year to the estimated 28 billion sold in the US alone each year. The impact on the environment is not good. Up to 80% of these bottles are ending up in landfills – never to be recycled. The same study indicates that making all of these water bottles consumes 17 million barrels of oil per year (enough to fuel more than a million cars per year) and generates 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. And this figure doesn’t even include the carbon impact of shipping these bottles from their point of origin to the consumer hands – a journey that may be multiple thousands of miles.

Plus, there is a growing worldwide concern about the depletion of water resources – taking it away from those who really need it to deliver it to those of us who already have it in abundance.

Feeling guilty enough yet? Me too. So, what’s a health and hydration conscious person to do?

Me, I still like the convenience of bottled water. So, I’m going to switch to a water bottle with built-in filtration made from corn-resin that provides the ideal combination of water purity and bottle biodegradability. This one from New Wave Enviro is available on Amazon.com

Aquasana Undercounter Water Filter System

At $8 each and 90 re-uses before they begin to degrade, these are still a bargain compared to buying bottled water. Plus, they make a great stocking stuffer. So drink up without guilt again!

If you don’t truly trust tap water, consider installing a filtration system in your home. The Aquasana Undercounter Water Filter System is a Consumer Digest “Best Buy” available on Amazon.com

Prices and more information : Reusable Corn Resin Water Bottle w/ Filter and Aquasana Undercounter Water Filter System

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