Hopefully you are well aware of the alternatives to using disposable bottles and recycle the ones you do use (consume). The advent of bottled water sent our already wasteful consumer culture into pollution overdrive and it’s a tremendous task to put the brakes on the momentum of this waste. Here is a list of plastic bottle facts that put the magnitude of this pollution into scope.
* Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting
* 90% of the cost of bottled water is due to the bottle itself
* 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled
* 38 million plastic bottles go to the dump per year in America from bottled water (not including soda)
* 24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles
* The average American consumes 167 bottles of water a year
* Bottling and shipping water is the least energy efficient method ever used to supply water
* Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States
Although it can be easy and convenient to pick up bottle beverage products the end cost to the environment is staggering. So be mindful when you drink…and remember, friends don’t let friends drink from disposables!
Weekly Statement #6:
ReplyDeleteReading about the water shortages has been very informative. I used to fall in the group that thought, “water is always here, it’s a cycle, what’s the big problem”? It’s the same reason why over-logging is a problem even though lumber is a renewable resource. The resource can’t self-replenish because we are going through it too quickly. While the water we use will eventually go back into the system, it’s much slower than the rate that we use the water. This seems really obvious, and it’s pretty pathetic that I didn’t have enough information to know this until reaching the age of 20. I’ve known about the water cycle since about third grade, but this never got mentioned aside from “Don’t waste water!” Not knowing the “why” is probably the biggest obstacle facing any sort of behavioral changes. I think it’s especially hard for us to imagine water being a problem here in Michigan; we’re surrounded by water on all sides so it’s very abstract. As students renting our housing, the most we can do is take shorter showers and only run the dishwasher or wash machine when they are full. But, when I own my own place I will definitely install the low-flow plumbing devices—they cut down on your water bill as well since not as much is used. It’s a solid investment all around, both environmentally and economically.
Connected to the issue of the water we use from the tap n is the issue of water bottles. Part of me wonders how we got to a point where we even sell bottled water. There was a commercial a few years back where a man fills his pop bottle in a river and says “Look! Bottled water!” and his friends laugh and say “Dude, water’s free”. It’s a pretty accurate assessment though; why in the world would anyone buy a bottle when there is drinking fountains in nearly every building you enter? At home it seems even more ridiculous, there is water from the tap readily available. Someone in the bottled water industry must be a marketing genius, or we’re really that gullible. The cynic in me wonders if the advent of bottled water coincides with the “drink 8 glasses a day” mantra. Maybe we’ve just become overly obsessed with hydration. The plastic grocery bag debate gave me pause, because I could think of some benefits of the bags, but I honestly don’t see any good in the bottled water. The statistics show that people don’t recycle them, they require large amounts of oil to make the plastic and to ship the bottles, most of the cost is in the packaging, and to top it off I’ve heard lately that the chemicals in the plastic leech out if you reuse the bottle.
There quite literally is no need for bottled water. It’s as ludicrous as the aforementioned commercial makes it seem. The only people who benefit are the manufacturers, and I think it’s about time that we just stopped using them altogether. In this instance, it is completely on the consumer to quit supporting the industry.
It’s amazing that there are 38 million plastic bottles going to the dumps per year in the United States, and this number doesn’t even include carbonated beverages. Our family likes to boil our water (out of habit), but even still we consume a lot of bottled water simply because of its convenience. I suppose our society is a bit centered around always being on the go, and the most convenient would be to grab a bottle and continue on with our days. Not many people are willing to take time out of our day to wait for the water the boil. Even so, there are many new products out there to filter water. Perhaps if we all set aside some time to filter our own water and invest in a metal/aluminum cantina, we could reduce our plastic intake by a good amount. Also bringing our own fabric bags instead of using plastic bags. Stores could remove plastic and paper bags altogether to encourage shoppers to bring their own fabric bags. There are many instances already in using these methods to reduce their plastic usage, so I’m a bit skeptical about the numbers given in the prompt. Certainly at one point these were accurate, but I believe it may have gone down a bit.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor that I found interesting was that 90% of cost of bottled water is due to the bottle itself. I think our society has been built around recognizing labels and bottled water has become a part of that as well. Similar to an article we read in CFC, where Americans were willing to pay $75+ (Ospop) on a pair of shoes designed after a Chinese factory worker’s shoe. We’re paying more for a product we could easily get very cheaply. Instead, we are more willing to pay for plastic engulfed water and decorated with aesthetically pleasing graphics.
Week 5
Laura Gillmore
ReplyDeleteThis week I’ve decided to write about this bottle water problem. A lot of the statistics listed I found to be unfortunate but believable. Yet there are two statistics that are really most surprising. The fact that 38 million plastic bottles go to the dump per year in America alone is outrageous. If it takes 700 years for these plastic bottles to start composting and there are 38 million of them then, where the hell do they go? Yes, they are flattened or crushed and sent to the dump, but I guess my question is, how is there room? The other statistic that blew my mind is the fact that bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States. In my mind that just shows laziness. Are we that lazy that we can’t just reuse old bottles or use a Nalgene or sports bottle? Or what about the drinking fountain? It’s even more expensive to buy the water bottle than to walk over and bend your head down at a water fountain, so why do we do it? There are so many questions and they all have to do with the ridiculousness that is the water bottle industry. I remember an older person mentioning to me that when he was younger water bottles really weren’t existent. He also added that the thought that we could just buy a water bottle at any grocery store or deli was completely unpredicted. So now I wonder: how and why did that change? There must be a reason why 38 million plastic bottles just for the beverage of water are being sent to the dump each year. (I am sure there is an obvious answer but I can’t think of it at the time).
I know I’ve been asking a lot of questions but my next question is, can we really make this better? What first came to mind when I read the statistics was: people should stop being such wimps about the taste of tap water and just use a Brita filter; but I don’t know if those filters are much better. There are few types of Brita filters I know of. I know there’s one that you can attach to your sink faucet and there’s one that you can use in a special Brita pitcher. The setback is you have to replace the filters every 2 months and these filters are plastic. I guess it’s a lot better than going to a movie, chugging a bottle of water after some buttery popcorn, and then throwing it away. However, these plastic filters also just get sent to the dump… right? The blog talks about “putting brakes on the momentum of waste” but how can we when we are so ill informed about the problem. I mentioned that I heard from an older person about this water bottle problem but I had never heard about it on television, posters, magazines, are any other form of media. And after reading some of the other comments everybody seemed astounded and unaware. So then maybe the best way to solve this problem is have these beverage companies use the faster biodegradable bottles as well as put in an effort to spread the statistics that were presented so easily in this blog. I’m still not sure what to make of this whole situation except to feel very bad every time I buy or see a water bottle.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEmerson Schreiner
ReplyDeleteWeekly respoonse #5
I think bottled water is hilarious. But everything that can be said about it has already been said, so I’m not going to talk about it.
Besides everyone has their own wasteful habits, right? Here’s one of mine: when I’m about finished brushing my teeth and I think I’m ready to rinse, I turn the faucet on, only to discover that the sound of the water running has triggered something in my brain that makes me want to continue brushing my teeth. So I keep the faucet running while I indulge in this hygienically beneficial, but environmentally damaging impulse. Until I have let the water run for long enough, I cannot spit, rinse, repeat, etc. I have no idea why this is, but I seem to be powerless to change this habit. It’s probably more ridiculous than bottled water, but then again, I don’t pay for it.
Besides simply professing my own insanity, my point is that while purchasing bottled water is a little stupid, it’s easy to point at the ridiculousness of others, and not look at your own environmentally unfriendly quirks.
Here’s another one: When my roommate and I make macaroni and cheese and we don’t finish all that we’ve prepared, I used to insist on saving it. It would be an atrocity to throw it away, I would insist, ignorance and evil embodied in wasted leftover noodles. I mean there are starving people for God’s sakes. We will put that macaroni in some Tupperware and we will like it, damnit.
My roommate would say, “Okay fine, but I’m not eating it.” And so two days later, to the loudly expressed disgust of my roommate, I’d be eating dry, re-heated, and utterly tasteless macaroni, which had little nutritional value before, and by then had certainly nothing but young, growing, bacteria.
Neither of us enjoyed the situation.
So now, when my roommate makes macaroni and there are leftovers, he “forgets” about it, and leaves it in the pot on the stove until it goes bad. This way there is no argument over whether or not to save it, and then he doesn’t have to see me eat the result. Generally, I ignore this tactic, because honestly, I don’t like eating reheated macaroni.
You guys all do stuff like this right?
Well, maybe not. I’m just trying to be honest in how utterly insane some of my wasteful habits are. Turning the focus on yourself is an interesting exercise. In fact, writing about my own habits has inspired me to change them. Tonight, when I brush my teeth, I will not turn the faucet in until I am positive that it’s time. So help me God.
In high school, I was a big plastic water bottle believer. The convenience of grabbing a bottle on the way out and then not having to worry about it once you were done drinking it was quite striking. In addition to the convenience however, was the taste. The water tasted good. I always made sure to buy Poland Spring because the water had a crisp taste of nothing. Meaning, it tasted like water which like nothing but still crisp and fresh. It is a hard taste to explain and even not all bottled waters achieve that taste. Some taste too flat or stale even.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first came to college, the water bottle became more imperative. I was in a constant rush to get to classes on time and constantly forgetting my water bottles somewhere along the way. I figured that if I had a bottle or container that I reused I would lose it every day and just end up buying a new one each time. To add to that, the water in the dorm water fountains had a weird metallic taste that the second the water reached room temperature you were able to sense.
This year however, I was not able to go to Meijer to buy a package of bottled water. Instead I found myself buying the largest size bottle of smart water by glaceau. When I finished the water that came with it, I realized that the water dispenser at the house I live at now dispenses good tasting water. So now I have kept my smart water bottle and make sure I have time to refill it each time I leave the house. Determined to keep my bottle (emotional attachment), the one time I’ve left it behind, I called and ask them to hold it for me until I come to pick it up. After the initial fear of not being able to cope without disposable water bottles, I realized that it was not so bad just to have one that I reused. So far it has been serving me until today and hopefully will continue to do so.
Connie Huang
ReplyDeletePost #6
I’ve been trying not to use plastic bottles ever since freshman year of college. The real reason I stopped using them is well, I was always too lazy to recycle the bottles once the bin was full. I would always feel bad for throwing them away so a simple solution was to not use them. Doesn’t sound great but hey whatever works. My house has a water purifier and it is a great way to stop using bottled water. I try to use water bottles you can wash over again and just refill them. I have one roommate that has a habit of buying very large containers of bottled water whenever she goes to the grocery market then brings them home and drinks them. She doesn’t even buy them to drink on the run but bring them home; then throws the bottles away. I never understood this habit, why buy bottled water when you’re home when you can pour a glass from the fridge? I have asked her why she does it and her response was, “I don’t know I just like drinking it from a bottle, but I know I’m being wasteful.” The funny thing is she has ADP III last year and stopped this habit for a while but now it has started back up again. Lets hope I can encourage her to stop again!
I came across an article about chemicals found in plastic bottles may be harmful. A chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) has been found to interfere with hormones, cause breast/prostate cancer, and decrease sperm count. Babies and children are at a high risk if they are exposed to it. When food are heated in plastic containers people are at a higher risk of being exposed to BPA. The article is mainly concerned with the effect the chemical has on people but if the chemical is harmful to people wouldn’t it be harmful to the environment as well? The article was intended to raise alarm for the general public but we should also take a look at what happens to those bottles after we throw them away. How does BPA effect the land when it is buried in a landfill? Or how does it decompose in the water?
I’m glad to see the popularity in Nalgene bottles grow. The more people reuse the less waste is produced. I don’t’ believe people will ever stop buying bottled water because everyone enjoys convenience. But starting to resuse bottles before throwing them again or buying a dishwasher safe bottles will definitely help.
POST 5-Jen Silverstein
ReplyDeleteFor my TMP class with Amanda Krugliak we are doing a “collecting project”. The assignment is to collect something every day of the semester, a sort of recording of your everyday life, however, the tangible objects you are collecting can be anything random. I decided to take one water bottle out of the garbage every day. I live in a sorority house with around 70 girls, and I find a water bottle in the garbage in the hallway nearly everyday. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
I knew that throwing water bottles out is wrong and not environmentally friendly, but the facts listed in this prompt are appalling. 38 million plastic bottles in the garbage a year? Where does it all go? It seems so logical to get a water filter for your fridge, and just use tap water. Why don’t we all do this.
I have collected one bottle for everyday this semester that could have been recycled, and will be now that I have rescued it. I plan on presenting the obnoxious amount of un-recycled water bottles to my sorority house at the end of the semester and hope to get a reaction.
The frustrating part about going green is that not nearly enough people are. The day in ADP that we discussed paper towel or dryer I swore to myself that if there is the option, I will always use the dryer. That same day I walked into the bathroom here in A&D and used the dryer, I gave myself a pat on the back. As I was waving my hands beneath the dryer two other girls walked out of their stall, washed their hands, pushed the paper towel dispenser down 3-4 times, ripped the paper off, and crumpled it over their hands and into the garbage. I was pissed.