Plastic Water Bottles and the Price of Convenience

green | May 29th, 2010 - 6:32 PM

Americans have always prided themselves on developing new technologies and ways to make life better. Unfortunately with some conveniences, side effects to the environment, as well as your wallet can result. Take bottled water for example. With summer just around the corner, many consumers will look to purchase bottled water as an easy solution to stay hydrated on the go. You would think that this abundant resource would be pennies to purchase, when in reality you’d be lucky to find a pint for less than a dollar.

While you may not be bothered by this out of pocket expense, one thing you should be aware of is what happens to that bottle when you are finished with it. Recycling of plastics does help, but unfortunately not all plastics can be recycled. Today, 80% of Americans have access to recycling facilities. While you would think this would greatly decrease the amount of waste produced, it is estimated that well under 20% of the plastic that can be repurposed actually finds it’s way to where it needs to go.

Where do all these extra bottles wind up? Some may make it to landfills, but there is still an overwhelming amount that finds a way into our oceans. Initially it was believed that plastic would take hundreds of years to break down and that high water temperatures were needed to speed up the process. Within the past year new studies have uncovered this breakdown process to actually be much quicker than this. Plastic can break down in as little as a year, and can do so in much cooler temperatures.

Good news, right? Well, it would seem so at first until you realize while the plastic itself breaks down, the toxins within don’t just disappear. Now in an undetectable state, they can produce a hidden danger to ocean life and ultimately humans.

Many of us don’t like things taken away that we have become accustomed to. For this reason alone, it is unlikely we will see the removal of bottled water from the store shelves any time soon. But for one company with a vision, the issues at hand have inspired the need for a solution that can aid in reducing plastic waste while still giving us that convenience factor.

HtruO, founded by brothers Kenny and Chris Muller is just one of the companies working today to combine the need for clean water with the ease of delivery without the drain on your pocket. Their whole house water filter takes up less space than the typical under your sink filters, and is installed at point of entry. This means every tap in the home produces bottled water quality, even the shower. One would assume this would be more expensive than a simple point of use filter, when in reality the cost is much lower.

Instead of stocking up on bottled water, you can now fill your own home brewed filtered water into a reusable stainless steel bottles, and never have to worry about stocking up at home to save. While there are additional benefits to using water filter companies like HtruO, this particular company has named reduction of plastic water bottles as one of their primary goals. With recent events like the oil spill in the Gulf, solutions like this can give us one less thing to worry about cleaning up from our oceans. Our thirst for new technology and convenience doesn’t have to come at price of an environmentally disturbed future.

For more information visit  RINF News  Plastic Water Bottles and the Price of Convenience

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