We just got a reverse osmosis system and immediately noticed how many fewer bottles we have to collect to recycle.

but wait!

1) if everyone starts filtering their own water what will they use to make my new fuzzy patagonia polar fleece jacket??

2) aside from HDPE, PET is one of the only other plastics being recycled. So um, what will we do with all thes recycling faciclities and green boxes??

(dood-- totally tongue in cheek here, ok?)

I think this article points out some facts that are completely overlooked when trying to remove our reliance on oil - plastics. OK, so plastics are recyclable but how many people are actually recycling? My mother-in-law almost threw out some Poland Springs bottles the other day because they were only redeemable in Maine until I reminded her of our recycling box.

We can now make plastics from corn starch - PLA. While this article states that PLA and corn crops still have a degree of environmental waste, I wonder what the comparison is between creating plastic from petroleum vs PLA.

Are there other alternatives to producing plastic? I wonder what effect the bottled water lobby has on obfuscating the safeness of tap water in various cities vs bottled water.

While we've been told that Lexan bottles (what most people think of when you say the brand name "Nalgene") are safe, there is evidence that they are as bad as or worse than many other plastics, due to Lexan leaching toxic materials.

According to a Grist column, the #2 plastic bottles are the least dangerous if you want a reusable water bottle.

Mason jars, mason jars. If you're not traveling or risking breaking it for some reason, this is the way to go. And, at least in the South (US), you'll get lots of people asking you about your moonshine.

Turil, you beat me to the punch.

The safest durable drinking container (someone correct me if I am wrong) is Stainless Steel.

I use glass bottles from voss to bottle my water I've always been pretty bothered by the plastics bottle especially because they end up laying around everywhere no one cares what happens to them

I like the mason jar idea ;)

It would certainly be a sight to see in a college classroom.

No one seems to be aware of the social danger that buying bottled water supports privatization of this natural resource, and that if the trend keeps going in this direction there will be a day when we'll be at the mercy of a few corporations controling all aspects of society using the leverage power that we are now giving away just for the convinience that represents. Let's not be lazy, raise awareness, demand from authoritys the proper treatment and distribution of potable water and used water, minimize usage, use enviroment friendly products. Water access is not only a human right but is also a universal right for all especies. Is not to much to ask to change our "modern way of life" of "if I want it, I must have it now", be more humble. There has been billions of humans before now, and there should be billions after; what make us think that our most insignificant desires must be satisfied nomatter the cost. This is a selfish phase of human history we are living in and it is up to us to end it.
Everybody should start from this philosophical premise:
"THERE IS NOT SUCH A THING AS GARBAGE". Think it over.

I thought you would like this article..

Cheers,
Jeanine

Sometime back, Panama (capital of the Republic of Panama, not the Florida City) used to have one of the purest tap waters of the world, today, the bottled water industries, before unheard of, are now making lot of bucks out of telling the public that "theirs is better".
This is the cost of lazy goverments and our idiocy for shiny things; whereas we should demand-fight for our rights: quality access to a public resource, we prefer to pay 3X to adopt wasting behavior.

Yeah, I use mason jars for drinking as well as wine glasses (with a cork stopper). I live in idaho and I have people asking me at work if I need all the breaks for my moonshine too. :) The wine bottle gets some looks and comments too.

I also use quart, pint, and half pint jars for leftovers in the fridge, cause I like to avoid plastics as much as possible.

http://www.polarisinstitute.org/pubs/pubs_inside_the_bottle.html

The Polaris Institue has put out an interesting looking publication about the bottled water industry called "Inside the Bottle" which can be ordered through their website.

hey im a student studying sustainable design and need to know some hard facts about water, also i need to know how domestic reed bed systems work? if anyone could volunteer some information or point me where to look, i would be very grateful.
thank you

I agree, bottled water is a ridiculous waste. You are basically buying someone else's tap water. Get a carbon filter like Brita (to remove chlorine and other nasty chemicals) and fill up your own bottle at home! Part of being a good steward to the environemt is just being prepared.

However, having tried FIJI water last month--quite by accident--I ordered water in a bar and they brought me this square bottle with a beautiful lable. I thought to myself, "how stupid is that, that they ship this water all the way from FIJI!" I was astounded at how wonderful it tasted. I have never tasted such amazing water in my life. It has a very high silica content which makes it incredibly smooth to drink. There is absolutely no comparison to bottled spring water. It was what water should taste and feel like. I wish I could drink it every day! It was such a treat!

not to mention that this is an island,in the middle of a salty sea, pumping fresh water out of the aquifer. yes it will be replenished probably over 100's (maybe thousands)of years. the pumping of ground water ultimatly effects surrounding river,lake and well levels. this is short term financial gain at the expense of the enviroment and the people who must live there long after the ohio CEO has long gone.

i just sort of stumbled on to this conversation. i didnt know plastic was bad. can someone catch me up on whats going on here?

Fiji water is the best water around period, no questions asked. The stuff is the water of the gods, I could founder myself on it. Love it. Try it before knocking all bottled water as not worth it.

Yeah Fiji is great water, but I don't think that you get the point that people are trying to make about how bad bottled water is as an industry.You have to look beyond the personal gain to the real cost of that great tasting water. It sounds like you would be a great CEO of a corporation though.

My suggestion: If you would like to drink Fiji water every day, move to Fiji I hear it's beautiful there.

Well, I don't know about any of you, but my tap water has been tasting much more like chemicals these days than water.... and sometimes if I do not run the tap water for a few minutes the water is very cloudy and has floating particles in it. I do drink my tap water, but I found that I prefer not to have that chemical taste. Who wants to put all those chemicals into their bodies? So, tell me again why I should not drink spring water that comes in those plastic bottles?

where can i purchase Voss water in toronto?

Its really nice that there are ppl out there that think about all the waste we create and plastic is definately one of them. I think that we can all do our part to make a differnce. I recent purchased a water purifier which is 100% natural and an awesome alternative to buying plastic bottled water. The purifier is made by Stefani and is very easy to use and maintain. Made from terracotta clay, the purifier is totally biodegradable and get this, it cools the water naturally without consuming any electric power! How neat is that. If you want to know more about stefani products, just visit their website: www.stefaniterracotta.com.

We used to live near an artesian spring in Indiana - so you don't have to buy it from Fiji to get that great taste! However - I do find myself buying every now and again. I love that water - hate the waste!

I work for a small company that manufactures a unique hydration bottle that relly helps stop the waste.
We have charcoal activated filter( made from coconut shell) that turns tap water into bottled water. Just fill up the bottle, close the top and sip away.Every sip is filtered. Thje replacable filter is good fo 80-100 refills. Thats 80-100 toss-out bottles not in the landfill.
We wer recently featured on groovy green.

Bula everyone! Very interesting read! I reside in Fiji and am conducting a research and I stumbled on this site. Anyways my little contribution that I'd like to add... I agree that the world should substantially lessen its use and wreckless disposal of plastics. I also agree that humanity has the right to clean and safe drinking water. However the questions at hand are; bottled water contribute massively to pollution and waste (including waste of resources such as fuel, etc) and, it may eventually lead to humanity being denied access to this vital resource because of the privatization of them.>>>>> I reckon that we have control over these things. People can control how they dispose of plastics, they can control the sale of their natural resources to companies which might exploit the resource> it all comes down to the individuals; who they are, want they want or need, their morals and ethics, values, their culture and traditions, etc. The actions they choose to take may be because of their need for money. It may be for their survival. It puts to debate which is more important at this time...life or the environment. BUT I know that for our survival, we need the environment to survive. So should it be narrowed down to human behaviour? Where we put emphasis on the need of money to survive?? It's been embeded in us that even though we may contest it, we go along with it, yes? Oh yes and as for the disposal on plastics and the types of plastics...maybe people should try and rid the world of the worst types of plastics. Maybe they should altogether come up with effective worldwide programs that will rid the planet of plastics especially plastic bags!!!!! And just a thought> maybe some plastics can "survive" in our lives> such as water bottles> we should be innovative about the uses of them> re-fill- besides, havent people thought of boiling their drinking water? Ok some may oppose this because boiling it may/will use more fossil fuels...>which is better? waste?... sop as I was saying maybe we can compromise...?...maybe...

>Cheers

IT DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU LIVE. There are plenty of municipal water systems that pump disgusting well water to your faucet. If you live in these areas, bottled water is really your only option -- unless you want to drink chlorine, nitrates, and other disgusting residue. The City of Davis, California is one example. And in Washington, D.C. we receive regular notice from the local government about how our water "might be red" from month to month due to lead and rust falling from pipes. And it continuously smells like sewer water.

Give me my Volvic any day.

It is so disturbing about the amount of waste. Not just the plastic from the bottles but how about the amount of water wasted to make the bottles. Or the fuel that is used to truck these heavy bottles across the country. Bottled water has only had a negative impact on our environment. I love the mason jar idea. You can also find great stainless steel bottles at www.waterenlightened.com.
There really is no such thing as "garbage"

really good article.
:D
i'm having a project for math,
and my driving question is:
if each family were to buy a water filter for their regular drinking water use,
how many water bottles would that save from being dumped in the land fills?

my driving force is to try and persuade people to see my point and buy water filters.

if you can,
i would like to know as well
how many water bottles does an average family use each day?

thanks much.
:)

JUST 2 TELL U PEOPLE IF U DRINK 2 MUCH WATER IT CAN RECE YOUR TEETH BUT WELL ALL LOVE IT SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT SIMPLY DONT DRINK SO MUCH WATERAND THN IT COULD HELP KEEP THE PEOPLE IN AFRICA ALIVE