A new reason to kick our bottled water habit

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Warren Buffett

These days, most people seem to get that single-use plastic water bottles are bad for the environment, not to mention our wallets. Despite this, more are being sold every year. You don’t have to delve too deeply to realize Americans have a water bottle problem. Now, new research gives us another reason to kick our bottled water habit: plastic in the water itself!

How single-use water bottles impact climate change and the environment

– Plastic water bottles are made from oil – 17 million barrels of oil are used to make the water bottles consumed in the US each year, and that doesn’t include the energy needed to produce and transport them.

– Only 15% of plastic water bottles are recycled – the rest are incinerated or take up residence in our landfills or waterways for the next 450 years.

– It takes about 1.4 GALLONS of water to make one water bottle.

A new reason to kick our bottled water habit

This just in – researchers found nanoplastics in the water from single-use plastic bottles. Scientists have known for years that bottled water contains microplastics, but finding significant amounts of nanoparticles is new and not great news. These particles are tiny enough to be absorbed into our cells and tissue, even our brains. Ick! It’s still unclear exactly what it means to have nanoplastics in our organs, but personally I don’t want to wait to find out.

What can we do?

This one is simple: cutting out disposable water bottles is low-hanging fruit. At home, if your local water is safe, drinking it straight from the tap is probably fine. If it isn’t safe, or if you don’t like the taste, consider filtering through your refrigerator, a pitcher, or faucet. When you leave home, it is easier than ever to use a refillable bottle – most businesses and airports have water stations for refills.

When we stop buying bottled water, we:

– Save money
– Prevent plastic waste
– Reduce demand for plastic bottles
– Cut fossil fuels and CO2 emissions
– Protect our rivers and oceans
– Eliminate (some of) the plastic we ingest

I love a good win-win scenario and can’t think of an easier one than kicking our bottled water habit. Spread the word!

Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.

About the Author:
Karen Dougherty is the mom of two college students. Last year, she left a full-time career to focus on her passion – climate change. A trained climate educator, she started a website and writes a weekly blog to share information that is calm, hopeful, and solutions-focused. Karen and her husband, Paul, love traveling, and recently road-tripped to Montana. Despite driving 7,000 miles through 23 states, they are still married! She is also a fan of the beach, minimalism, reading, walking with friends, and volunteering for Feeding Charlotte. You can check out her work at unheating.com.