The concept of bottled water has been around for hundreds of years, since glass bottles were invented. Yet, despite that fact that we now have clean tap water available to us at a moment's notice, we still continue to use disposable plastic bottles that end up in landfills. Not only are they made to be used once, but they are often not disposed of properly. As a result, much of it ends up in our oceans and other waterways where it will never degrade.
Americans alone discard 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour! Of those, only about 23% are ever recycled. The rest end up in landfills where it will take over 1,000 years to decompose.
Although we can't eliminate ALL plastic bottles tomorrow, we certainly can cut down on them by using reusable containers.
The following are some suggestions for reducing plastic use:
- Get in the habit of keeping your own reusable water bottle with you at all times.
- If possible, drink filtered tap water at home. To make the tap water taste better you can keep it cold in the fridge and add your favourite flavour Cube.