Sunday, June 6, 2010

Banning the Bottle, Or How I Learned to Love Stainless Steel Waterbottles

I admit-- a case of water is a convenience. Grab a bottle and go-- but is it really that much more convenient than a reusable stainless container? Hear me out.
  • Plastic leeches into the water, which we then ingest.
  • In the majority of cases, bottled water isn't more pure than your tap.
  • There are great and inexpensive purifiers if needed.
  • Plastic is made with petroleum, requiring billions of barrels of oil a year to produce.
  • Only 30% of all bottles are recycled.
  • The energy used to package, transport, dispose of, and recycle bottles is unconscionable.
  • And nowadays you can find well-designed ones like my new Keith Haring bottle.
These are the reason why I am banning water bottles from my house and my classroom. Wish me luck.

2 comments:

Tom Judson said...

Oh, I wish I could join you on this one, but I just don't like the taste of water out of a metal bottle (which, is, I guess, a can, right?) Johnathan has one and swears by it, but every time I take a sip it's metallic. I guess I'm just a wimp. But I *don't* buy plastic water bottles: I have a sturdy one that I refill.

Nadine @ BDG said...

The reusable plastic ones count too! Listen, I was born with a metal spoon in my mouth so I've probably suffering from a less refined palette.