Green Your New Year's Resolution: Get Off The Bottle

Happy new year! You may have already committed to the bulk of your resolutions, but deepening your shade of green will do us all good. This week, we’ll be giving you easy-to-stick-to ways to make 2009 greener.

Tip #3: Get Off The Bottle

Buying bottled water might seem convenient. But after considering all the oil it took to make and ship and the watersheds that were affected, it begins looking like a pretty bad idea. Once you learn that Americans spend $9 billion on bottled water annually – more than what it would cost to get clean water to every person in the world – we're betting you'll want to switch to tap.

Comments

[Donna Chandler]

If we could count on the quality of the water it maybe worth it. But my health is also important.

[Lisa Labeille]

I've cut down the amount of water I buy; but I save, clean, and refill the empties w/filtered tap water. Great for freezing for summer days, or just using as "ice packs" in coolers!

[Pamela Anderegg]

When I first heard about this a year or so ago, I bought a permanent vinyl covered metal water bottle. It's filled with filtered water and goes with me everywhere.

I bought it at a book store. I'm sure they wanted me to fill it with their coffee!

[arlene herin]

How about telling us what kind of carrying bottle for water (material used?)and where to purchase one.

[Green Life]

Donna: According to the NRDC, between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water is essentially bottled tap water (www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp). Also, as the film "Flow" (www.flowthefilm.com) reports, there is less than one person at the FDA whose job it is to regulate the bottled-water industry. So drinking water out of the bottle isn't necessarily healthier or safer than drinking tap. But if you're still concerned, a filter on your faucet, like the ones Brita (www.brita.com) sells, could ease your mind.

[Green Life]

Arlene: Try a long-lasting Sigg, which is made of durable aluminum. The company is a member of 1% For The Planet (www.onepercentfortheplanet.org). For articles about ecofriendly water bottles, check out these links: www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1865754,00.html and http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-eco-friendly-water-bottles-to-reuse-rehydrate-refill-160432

[Cari Newton]

I wish there would be more imphasis on other kinds of bottles too. It seems to me that there is an attack on bottled water, but what about the people who buy & drink bottled soda. They are getting poor nutrition while ruining the planet. I like filters at the water faucet and reusable bottles myself...

[Dr. Karen]

Klean Kanteen and Sigg are two of the better water bottles. These are available on line and at recreational sports stores (like REI, Joes, etc.) Actually, the best is a glass water bottle (like a pickle jar), but it's not very transportable!

I recommend filtered water for tap, shower and laundry water since most cities have halogens in their water--and heat releases the toxic gasses. (like flourine and chlorine.) However, you can find out the constituents in your water from the city. Then you can decide if you want to drink it. Brita is one of the most inexpensive, but not expansive filters --MultiPure is one of the better more expansive ones. (No affiliation with any of these companies.)There are several others designed for showers, etc.

If you have a well, you can often get water testing kits very inexpensively from the county extension office. In rural areas the issues are typically heavy metal, pesticide and herbicide contaminants.

[Donna]

I have a simple undersink filter system that sends the best tasting water to my frige and on sink tap. This plastic craze as got to end. That annual bottled water budget could get clean water to every person in the world. What's up with us??

[James Biser]

I use tap water. I have water bottles that I keep full from the tap.

I am lucky to live in a place that has clean and tasty water; however, I used to live in a place where we needed to filter the tap water.

I still used what came through the tap; I just treated it first.

[Christy]

One huge perk when using reusable bottles (aluminum, Nalgene) instead of plastic bottles is that they are hard, and the water doesn't leak in your bag if it is squeezed. Back in the day when I used to use plastic bottles, I'd often have water spill in my backpack or purse. Now that I've used reusable bottles for the past 7 or so years, I've never once had a leak.

Bottled water is such an enormous waste. There are few things I hate more than seeing someone drinking it, except for maybe if they are drinking it while driving a Hummer to the airport to ride their private jet and eat a steak. That would really make me mad.

[Lerin]

I was raised on wellwater, and am fortunate to have wellwater now. We sometimes buy the occasional bottle of water if we run out while we're away from home, but save the bottle and refill it at home and wash it and use it until my scientist husband deems it un-usable. I always take my own water everywhere I go. I do not drink city-water because of the chemicals in it b/c they can destroy the flora in your stomach. We do have a faucet-mount Pur filter- it filters out more stuff than Brita.

[jessica]

although briefly, i'm so glad this tip mention that it takes OIL to manufacture plastic!
why do we not hear this more often?? people complained all summer about the price of GAS, but continued buying PLASTIC water, soda, and other bottles.

[Sara B., Norfolk]

I hate plastic containers. I've started using a jar...an old glass jar that had cling peaches in it actually...as my water container. The lid screws on tight and I can throw it in my bag and go to work. The only thing is that it's too big for my car cup holder, but using a slimmer jar would do the trick. The other perk to jars is that the mouth is wide making the whole jar easy to clean. Those aluminum bottles have narrow mouths and you can't get a cloth inside (and it's too tall for my mini-dishwasher). Jars work for lunch too in lieu of gladware. I went to the thrift store and bought a fork, spoon, and knife for $.10/ea to reuse at work too!

[john boyd]

i never buy bottled water, except in a foreign country where there is a potability problem. for years i carried a reused soda or water bottle with tap water in my car or with me. then i heard that plastic leeches chemicals after a while and i started using a glass jar. those with a permanent gasket in the lid, such as a jelly jar or the kind that individual fruit juices or tea come in work fine, until the steel lid starts to rust. i am not above plucking one out of a trash can and washing it. i call it my canteen, which is a pretty old concept. having a constant supply of water with you is easy with a little forethought. -john.

[Kristin]

Many small country towns, especially towns at high elevations, get their water from natural springs. I used to live in one such town and I've seen how natural spring water is bottled ... via a town fire hydrant. Please let everyone you know that drinks "natural spring water" where this actually comes from. There is no hygiene here. If they are really concerned, they should get a tap filter or boil their water.

[Diane]

I invested in a stainless steel water bottle last year, it's indestructible and imparts no flavor or chemicals. We drink filtered tap water.

I also use the collapsible Platypus water bottles, the collapsible feature is fantastic, it's taste-free, lightweight and I can freeze the water, use it as a cooler, then drink it and at the end of the day, roll it up and stick it in my pocket plus it's BPA free.

Many of the aluminum bottles are lined with BPA which is also used in many reusable plastic bottles and to quote Consumer Reports "
Scientific studies suggest that BPA—a chemical widely used in food and beverage can linings, as well as in hard clear plastic bottles and food-storage containers—may cause harmful health effects from even common, low-dose exposures".

The chemical BPA has been banned in many countries and was removed from baby bottles here in the USA.

I would NEVER re-use a plastic bottle that is not designed to be reused, the plastic leaches toxins especially if it bends or cracks in the freezer.

[Nancy Beebe]

I just read that one of our new President's favorite beverages is bottled water. Most of his environmental views seem pretty sound -- would you please clue him on this one?

[Chris]

I have been guilty of using bottled spring water for years but have recently started to use refillable bottles to take along. The problem is the plastic taste in the water when I freeze it. I do use the filter built into my fridge to filter the water. The biggest problem is the horrible taste and chemicals in public water supplies. Our water smeels of chlorine most of the time. That is hard to get past.

[Allison]

Check out our EarthLust stainless steel bottles too - we're fighting this battle one bottle at a time... It's painful to think about plastic bottles piling up in landfills and polluting oceans. We're a small company trying to make a difference a high quality alternative. Filtered tap water in our bottles is the way to go! www.earthlust.com

[Andrus]

I buy bottled water mostly on the go, away from the almost-ok-tasting tap at home or water fountain at the office. I don't carry a bag around so having a metal bottle isn't an option either. But I guess every little helps so how about http://www.pledgehammer.com/andrus/not-buy-bottled-still-water-unless-travelling/

(Pledgehammer is a site myself and a few friends created for keeping track of such resolutions, with a charitable touch)

[Marliss]

I only used bottled water on long car trips, but this fall I switched to a reuseable stainless steel bottle made by Nathan. Unlike other bottles, it has a wide mouth. It uses BPA-free plastic for the lid and the attached straw--a feature some people may not like. I do, as it means I need not tip back the bottle in order to drink. It has a built-in clip that attaches easily to bags.