I find that shocking.
Today I realized two things: 1) that I wasn't doing all too well with my "say no to plastic bottles" thing, and I decided that instead of just doing (or "trying") I should find out ALOT more about this issue, so I'll have a way bigger incentive to not buy these drinks. And 2) the people around me have a huge influence on me! Alot of people don't think about the impact of their everyday purchase, or just don't care. And what they don't realize is that it not only affects them, but the world and everyone around them, including me!
I've decided that I'm going to share what I've learned about plastic bottles and their impact on the world.
- Americans alone add 29 million plastic bottles a year to the world
- To make those 29 million bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil (enough to run a million cars for a year)
- roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.
- If you fill a plastic bottle up a quarter of the way up with crude oil, that's how much it took to produce that one bottle.
- For every 1 L of water bottled, it takes 3 L of water to produce that one bottle.
- Plastic bottles take hundreds of years to disintegrate
- Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours
- Tap water is just as, or better than, bottled water!
Knowing this, it makes me wonder why people drink from plastic bottles? Why is the plastic bottle company here to stay? Here's what I found:
1. Convenience
A huge factor! It's easy to just grab a cold water bottle out of the fridge when you're on the go, living your everyday busy life. But I say that it's just as easy to fill up a reusable bottle! It'll save you money in the long run too.
2. Lack of Knowledge
Lots of people think that water from plastic bottles is better for you then tap water. But in reality, it's just the opposite! Two multinational bottled water producers use tap water from Vancouver, Mississauga, Brampton and Calgary for their brands... how wack is that?? And if you're still not so sure, buy a tap water filter, that way you will be getting healthy and clean water 100% of the time. They even have reusable bottles that hook up to a filtration system now! http://www.3m.com/intl/ca/english/centres/home_leisure/filtrete_water/ The Filtrete Water System always you to have a water system that filters water right to your bottle!
3.Fear
People have a fear of drinking tap water due to incidents in the past, such as the 1993 outbreak of cryptosporidium that infected 400,000 residents in Milwaukee and the 2000 outbreak of E. coli in Walkerton. But by buying a filter, you eliminate the risks, and cut down on plastic bottle wastes at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
For all of these reasons I'm going to try and educate the people around me and let them know that their decisions will impact not only them, but me and others around them. I will also make sure, I won't buy any plastic bottles, and if I do, that they will be recycled no matter what.
Previous hidden message: Let's recycle
My references:
http://www.filterforgood.ca/code/navigate.php?Id=1
http://www.allaboutwater.org/filtered-water.html
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/water-bottle-pollution/
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