The evil water bottle

Last Monday I went to pick up S from soccer camp. All the fields were littered with water bottles - discarded water bottles, some of them even almost full. Interestingly, a lot of them were the Poland Springs eco bottle. When I first saw that commercial a few months back, I could hardly believe it. Poland Springs is trying to make people believe that they are actually doing something environmental by buying the eco shape bottle and I think this is bordering on green washing. Isn't it great that the bottle is lighter and - wow - even the paper label is 30% smaller. This does not take away from the fact bottled water is absolutely out of place in every day life and actually only belongs to special circumstances. The fact that so many children just leave the bottles on the field is a whole other topic, that I do not want to get in here now.

The production, transportation and consumption of bottled water wastes resources and energy and pollutes our environment. Millions of barrels of oil are used to make plastic bottles and more is needed to transport them, some even across the ocean. The vast majority of bottles end up as rubbish in landfills, even if they are recyclable. Can you imagine 30 million plastic water bottles a day? Or the bottles get burned and release toxins into the air. On top of it, it takes a lot more water in the process, than actually ends up in the bottle. Let's not forget that water is actually a precious resource, too. Some might argue that the oil used for the plastic bottles is minimal when compared to transportation of other food or drinks. Even though that might be a valid point, I cannot consider it, because changing from bottled to tap water is something everybody can do easily. Orange juice has to come from somewhere other than New England (which is one of the reasons we do not buy it regularly anymore), but I have a lot of faucets. Bottled water is unnecessary and as a consumer I can make a decision that is responsible and not selfish.

Some people think bottled water is safer, but in truth, municipal water underlies stringent EPA testing requirements. The Natural Resources Defense Council did a four-year review of the bottled water industry and concluded that "there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle, it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap." 70% of bottled water produced and sold within states is exempt from FDA regulation, and a good 1/3 "of tested bottled water brands violated, in at least one sample, an enforceable standard or exceeded microbiological-purity guidelines." Additionally, plastic bottles leach chemicals, which is why that have the warning not to reuse the bottles. So I can filter my water at home and use something safer to store the water. If I am in doubt, I can have the water tested to make sure there is no contamination like lead or something else.

We are a convenient society and buying bottled water seems so convenient, or is it? Somehow my life does not seems more complicated and stressful because I fill up my children's bottle with our charcoal filtered tap water. Filling our bottles and taking them with us has become a habit, we do it automatically. I think that filling up our own bottles is cheaper, safer, more convenient and definitely better for the environment. I am not a fan of plastic for food and drink - just think about BPA - though I make some exceptions. We are using non toxic and eco friendly SIGG bottles from Switzerland. One of my SIGG bottles is about 20 years old and is starting to look beat up, truthfully none of them look pristine, since they are meant to be used. So the only drawback to them lasting so long, is that when I see a new print design, I really have no reason to get a new one.

Think about this: there are some cities in Canada, that have a bottled water ban.