Here are a few reasons to consider ditching disposable plastic water bottle and pick up a reusable option instead. 6 questions to ask yourself regarding Should bottled water be banned?
1. Can Plastic Water Bottles be Recycled?
About 75 percent of disposable water bottles end up in the garbage can, even though they have the recyclable symbol right on the bottom. And while many people feel they are doing the environment a favor by refilling these plastic bottles, refilling them is known to cause health problems as many water bottles contain known toxins that leak into your drinking water with repeated use.
What’s more, 80 percent of the 50 billion plastic water bottles purchased in the U.S. every year are not recycled.
2. Stay Hydrated.
Your body needs about eight, 8-ounce glasses of water every day. While the needs vary between men and women and each person is different, it can be difficult to consume this much water when you’re on the go. To stave off dehydration, pick up an eco-friendly water bottle instead of using multiple single-use bottles in a day.
3. Dangers of Plastic Water Bottles
The reality of a single-serving lifestyle is that there is a mass of products that require A LOT of packaging. The fundamental problem with plastic packaging is that it is completely dependent on synthetic materials including one well-known environmental toxin and synthetic chemical known as BPA, or bisphenol A. Used in the production of bottles and canned foods (within the lining) this compound has been associated with human health problems along with environmental risks like an accumulation of plastic soup in the oceans and soil, plus so much more. In fact, if you an American there is a 93% chance that you still carry BPA inside of your body according to the Center for Disease Control.
Can plastic water bottles be reused? They can in a pinch, however it’s easy for the bottle to turn toxic if left in the sun or a hot car.
4. Single-Use Bottles are Expensive.
If you were to purchase the recommended eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day in the form of disposable water bottles, you’d spend about 1,400 dollars a year. If you were to refill an eco-friendly water bottle with tap water, you’d spend about .49 cents per year. A single tap water filter can replace as many as 300 16.9-ounce bottles for great-tasting water and less waste. It’s an easy and convenient way to keep all body systems supplied with this essential nutrient, and much more affordable than buying bottled water.
5. Is Bottled Water Better?
A reusable water bottle also helps to reduce your exposure to known pollutants. Look for BPA-free bottles to avoid bisphenol A, a known toxin also found in other plastic containers and some canned foods.
“Remember, we’re merely using it as a vessel to consume beverages”
Avoid using plastic bottles with a 7 marked on the bottom. These most commonly contain BPA, which further leaches into the contents when heated.
6. Recycling for the Future
Choose a reusable water bottle that expresses your personality. So pick one up and take it to yoga class, work and anywhere else you want to go! Whether you like bright colors, prints, logos of your favorite brands or even a custom design, you can get just about anything you want in the way of a non-toxic water bottle these days.
What happens when you dispose of plastic bottles:
At the end of the day we really ought to think about the effects of these water bottles, should plastic water bottles be banned? Is this helping the planet? Let’s all make this world a better place.
Many people drink bottled water because they think that it’s a healthier alternative to tap water. The truth is that most bottled waters are really just filtered tap water. And considering the municipal water supply of any given area has much stricter and rigorous testing standards for water quality than water supplies used by public bottlers, don’t think twice about drinking from the tap.
Plastic is a problem. As an outdoor community, people who rip in the backcountry naturally have a passion and drive for being green so to us, removing the carbon footprint from the hills matters. However, the problem of plastic soup remains.
Until recently, the overall approach to recycling has followed this general steez:
1. Recycling is good.
2. Recycling earns money.
3. Recycling works.
However, there is a clear and present problem with this seemingly simple 3-step solution to recycling waste if you know anything about the real problem with BPA: it lingers.
Residue from conventional plastics causes traceable levels of BPA in the body. Research suggests substantial non-food exposure to this chemical and accumulation in body tissues, urine and fat, according to Environmental Health Perspectives. In the environment, plastics cause similar threats to a long-lasting life. The technical term for the amount of lingering pollution caused by the plastic industry has hit a ceiling of global tolerance. The trend is a demand for material conversion from conventional plastics to a more long term alternative is starting to become more obvious all over the world.
“The diversity of plastics applications is a quality that’s unique to this industry, and something that continues to increase with every passing year. It has grown to include new materials and new markets that the industry’s earliest practitioners could never have predicted. The trend globally continues to be to replace other materials with polymers, suggesting that when it comes to finding new, previously unheard of uses for plastic materials, the sky is truly the limit. This bodes well for the industry’s prospects and its ability to welcome new workers into its ranks.” According to the plastics industry association.
How Toxic is Plastic?
If you’re starting to wonder what percentage of your urine contains this well-known chemical toxin, are you also asking, “Why it is still legal to use in America?” Well, many people have been asking that important question for decades and recent changes in the United States legislature have finally started to see the results of the hard work.
Until the 2019 agriculture reform, the plan for reversing the years of damage caused by conventional plastic biodegrading included separating them according to a strict organizational system for recycling. That system, however, is no longer the only plan.
Within the 2019 agriculture reform a bill, also known as “The Farm Bill,” includes notations that remove criminal charges for growing or using hemp plants. In doing this, industrial production of hemp-derived materials including plastic began.
Looking towards the future, it is easier now to see why agricultural reform includes the decriminalization of hemp-derived products like plastic. Today, hemp farmers have teamed up with many companies to create a better environmental approach to previously harmful materials like toxic mortar, metals, and plastics. Not only that, but this revision in the United States legislature also released CBD, or Cannabidiol from its bondage and thus over-the-counter hemp-derived healthcare products are now also available in places all over the U.S.
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BY 2050 scientist think their will be more plastic then fish/marine animals in the waters
That is disheartening for sure. Thanks for the update.
ban those water bottles because the are murderers
Ban those ugly terrible plastic water bottles!!!