No more bottled water
This post is part of my Green Project series.
This is one of those things that I fail to understand, no matter how many times or how hard I try. I just do not get the reason behind people’s fascination with bottled water. For the uninitiated, bottled water is the water that you buy at gas stations for a buck.08 and it comes in a PLASTIC BOTTLE. I could understand people drinking bottled water if there wasn’t enough clean water supply, e.g. in a third world country. But, for someone like me and you who has almost 24X7 access to clean, filtered water, I feel it’s a total no-brainer. What my pea-sized brain is not able to comprehend though is the very economics behind the whole bottled water concept. OK, assuming the water (in the water bottle) can pretty much be retrieved at zero operational costs, all the company is charging you is for the bottle. Assuming that you paid a buck.08 for just the plastic bottle, does it just end there? That plastic bottle has a long journey to take before it can meet its end. How do we figure the costs involved in disposing off the bottle? Does it take more than a buck.08 to recycle that bottle? Does it hurt our planet more than just a buck.08? How much energy is involved in recycling or disposing the bottle off? I’m sure it is more than a buck.08.
Obviously, the manufacturer does not care what happens to that bottle once it’s sold right? Only if our politicians could make the manufacturer more accountable, things would be a lot different. If it were me, I’d make it mandatory for the manufacturer to buy the bottle back from the consumer and in fact, pay for it. Sadly, I’m not in charge of things around here. So, let’s see what else can we do to fix or at least circumvent this problem. Here are a few things I think we could do
1. STOP buying bottled water. Yes put a full-stop to this useless habit.
2. STOP buying anything that is bottled as much as you can, not only water. How about carbonated drinks or juices? Buy the ones that come in aluminum cans. If you buy things in bulk, buy a crate of cans rather than a crate of plastic bottles!
3. Get yourself a steel or aluminum water bottle. Go to your nearest REI or a sports store. You will find plenty of choices. A nice aluminum bottle can give you a touch of style too.
4. Recycle. If you end up getting plastic home, don’t just dump it, recycle it.
5. Be an advocate. I think what we lack right now isn’t motivation but awareness. We need to let know as many people as we can about the ills of plastic. You will be surprised to see how many people you end up educating.