When I was little, we drank water right from the tap. We drank water from the hose. We used water fountains. My daughter is fascinated with drinking fountains and insists on using every one she encounters. They are few and far between and with bottled water, they may need to be put on an endangered list.
I am 31. I am just now starting to age myself with being surprised when people don’t remember Punky Brewster, New Coke, or the famous quote, “Where’s the beef?” (I promise to write another blog about my love of beef and its horrible ramifications to our environment.)
I like the fact that someone had the ingenuity to put water in a bottle and sell it. What a concept. What a fabulous, inexpensive, lucrative business. If you are thirsty, drink water. Now here it is in a bottle, ready to drink. Bottled water is portable, convenient, and handy. I can throw it in my purse or my bag. If the kids are thirsty, I have water at hand. I, myself, am a huge fan of Aquafina and turn my nose down to Arrrowhead.
Then the water is gone and I am left with an empty bottle. Refill? Sure. Sometimes from the tap (Reno has pretty good water) or from the fridge (filtered and cool). You might be interested in this article from Environmental Working Group about the quality of bottled water. You may want to wash it out (non-chlorine bleach or soap and water) as bacteria can grow between uses. Plus, you are saving that bottle from being waste unless you recycle it. According to MSNBC.com, the growth has been even more impressive in terms of water bottles sold: from 3.3 billion in 1997 to 15 billion in 2002. That is a lot of water bottles. And these facts from Earth911.com including that only 23% of water bottles are recycled, the energy and resources that it takes to make them, and the money spent on bottled water.
I started using my own. I like it. I sometimes forget it, but I am still creating less waste on the times that I do have it with me and am thirsty. I had some issues when all the outpouring of research found #7 (BPA) plastic to be a danger, but went back to my old Nalgene (#2) and was given a stainless steel bottle as a gift. I love the stainless steel. It stays cool longer, it is not too heavy, no aluminum, no bad plastics, just a great handy bottle. Plus, I create no waste. I have become much better about remembering my bottle.
EcoReno sells ecousable™ stainless steel water bottles. They come in three sizes:10oz, 16oz, and 33oz and in a variety of colors and designs. They have a nice mouth on them. Not too big so you need to be retrained on drinking water and not so small that you have to purse your lips too tight. The best thing? ecousable™ is launching a stainless steel water bottle, the ECH2O, this month that has a filter in it! Yep, you can get water anywhere and it will be clean and tasty! EcoReno has an order in and we have been told that our order will be here before the end of the month.
Save waste, look fashionable, and have your water on hand. Perfect gift for the holidays.
