☆ Americans used 50 billion water bottles in 2006 and sent 38 billion water bottles to landfills, the equivalent of 912 million gallons of oil. (Fishman, Charles. "Message in a Bottle." Fast Company Magazine July 2007: 110.)
☆ The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes. ("Not Disposable Anymore." P.O.V.'s Borders. 2004. PBS.)
☆ In 2006, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38. (Fishman, Charles. "Message in a Bottle." Fast Company Magazine July 2007: 110.)
☆ Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles in 2006. However, the U.S.'s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles — more than $1 billion worth of plastic — are wasted each year. (Fishman, Charles. "Message in a Bottle." Fast Company Magazine July 2007: 110.)
Now, we obviously don't want to drink tap water. It tastes nasty (I think) and has chemicals and other not-so-good things in it. So, purchase a Brita Filter. You can either purchase one that sits directly on the water faucet or a pitcher that you fill up. Each of these items contain a filter that automatically cleanse the water, taking out lead and bacteria and other chemicals that are found in the tap water. If you go to Costco, you can purchase the Brita Pitcher with two filter refills and you get a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle included in the pack. Brita products are found at all major retailers other than Costco, like Safeway, Albertson's, Ralphs, Walmart etc. And guess what? Purchasing the Brita system saves you money over the years, so not only will you be contributing to going green, your wallet will stay green, too.
To be honest, my parents bought Lyss and I the Brita pitcher to save money on water bottles. With Lyss and I living in the desert where water is pretty much necessary to our daily survival during the hot seasons, we went through cases and cases of water bottles last year. Brita has been great so far. And what's rad is that, in my opinion, the Brita water tastes so much better than bottled water. I've adapted to not having plastic water bottles. Every day I fill up my 32 oz. Nalgene water bottle and carry it around with me wherever I go. And, since our recommended daily water intake is 64 oz, I know that if I fill my bottle up twice throughout the day, I'm good as gold.
If you continue to purchase water bottles or use plastic grocery bags, I strongly strongly urge and encourage you to RECYCLE. If not for the environment in which you live in, do it for the poor polar bears who are drowning to death because of glacial melting due to climatic changes in weather. Do it for the environment that you live and breathe in. And if that's not enough, do it for me. That's worth something, right? :-)
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