Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Genesis of the Plastic Water Bottle: Four

Could the crazy price of gas have anything to do with our over use of plastic, another petroleum based consumer product? Hummm…how are disposable plastic bottles contributing to this craziness?

Did you know?
• 1.5 million barrels of oil in the US alone are used to make water bottles from polyethylene terephthalate; 86% of which then end up in landfills or get incinerated.
• Water bottles are shipped long distances, like the 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water sent 2,700 miles to Saudi Arabia, or Fiji water (yes really from Fiji) found in the US and Canada.
• Tap water comes to us through an energy-efficient infrastructure whereas bottled water must be transported long distances—and nearly ¼ of botled water travels across national borders—by boat, train, airplane, and truck. This involves burning even more fossil fuels! Note: a major deciding factor in buying any water or food should be--Is this food/water better travelled than I am? If yes, say no.
• Researcher Emily Arnold: “Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing—producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy.”

Its time to buy a reusable (preferably not-plastic) water bottle for yourself and for your friends!

Source: www.treehugger.com

1 comment:

doorkeeper said...

Thats it, no more plastic drinking bottles for me! I don't use many, but if I can't buy it in a recyclable can or bottle, then it stays on the shelf. Here's to tap
and well water.