The Plastic Bottle Effect - #StopAndSwap
The bottled water industry has grown rapidly over the past few years with nearly a million plastic beverage bottles are sold every minute around the world (11). Today, the convenience of disposable water bottles means that we can find bottled water almost everywhere we go.
It’s no question that plastic bottles (and bottled water) are bad for the environment, and bad for your health (see fact 2). Not only do they require a lot of energy to manufacture, it can take up to 1000 years for a plastic bottle to degrade. However, plastic bottles do not biodegrade (broken down by living organisms), they just degrade, meaning they break down into smaller pieces so they will remain in our environment forever.
10 Shocking Facts About Single-use Plastic Bottles
1. More than 90 percent of bottled water from the world’s leading brands were found to be contaminated with microplastics(1)
2. Many plastics contain stiffeners such as Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that can disrupt hormones. After multiple uses or exposure to heat, these harmful chemicals can start to leak into our food.(2)
3. Over 150 plastic bottles litter each mile of UK beaches.(3)
4. One recycled plastic bottle can save enough energy to light a 60W light-bulb for 6 hours. (4)
5. On average, one person using a reusable drinks bottle will save using 100 disposable bottles every year.(5)
6. Recycling one tonne of plastic bottles also saves 1.5 tonnes of carbon. 1 tonne roughly equates to 25,000 plastic bottles.(6)
7. It takes 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle from recycled plastic compared with using ‘virgin’ materials.(7)
8. An estimated 13 billion plastic bottles are disposed of each year.(8)
9. More than 285,000 tonnes, or 6,288,502,000 (6.28 billion) household plastic bottles are not recycled – this cost local councils £24.3m in disposal costs.(9)
10. 25 recycled PET bottles can be used to make an adult's fleece jacket.(10)
Environmentally-friendly alternatives to single-use plastic bottles
Switch for yours and your family’s health
Not only should you switch to a reusable alternative for the environment, you should also do it for your health: the BPA’s found in plastic bottles has been linked to endocrine disruption, which means it can disrupt normal hormone function and lead to a slew of dangerous health issues. Studies have also linked the compound to breast cancer.
Reusable glass bottles
In the case of drinking bottles, glass does not change the taste or smell of the drinks whatsoever, nor does it adopt them. You feel like tea today, fruit juice tomorrow, and just pure water the day after? No problem at all with glass bottles – the enjoyment of your beverages is always genuine and unaltered (provided you gave it a good rinse in between, obviously). Furthermore, glass contains no harmful substances, so it is one of the healthiest choices and suitable for everyone.
Reusable stainless steel bottles
Dishwasher safe and thus easy to clean and hygienic. Stainless steel contains no harmful additives and is therefore harmless to your health. Only for people with a nickel allergy, it may not be suitable. In addition, a stainless steel bottle is extremely durable, since it is shatterproof and virtually indestructible. Furthermore, there are double-walled, insulated stainless steel bottles available. These have the added benefit of keeping drinks cold (or hot) for a long time. Like glass, stainless steel is an environmentally-friendly material that can be recycled unlimited times relatively easily, without any loss of quality.
Fill up!
There local Refill points all over North Devon - Install their app on your phone today, to find refill points wherever you are: https://refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/
For taste: Filter water bottle
These bottles can remove bacteria, heavy metals and unpleasant tastes from tap water, but we recommend that you shop for a glass or stainless steel version that a reusable plastic one.
Sources
2. https://www.popsci.com/earthtalk/article/2008-08/how-safe-tupperware
3. https://www.sas.org.uk › our-work › plastic-pollution-facts-figures
4. http://www.relativelyinteresting.com/20-mind-boggling-facts-plastic/
5. https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/the-facts-plastic/
6. https://australianmuseum.net.au/blog-archive/science/interesting-plastic-facts/
7. https://www.recycle-more.co.uk/household-zone/top-facts
8. https://www.recycle-more.co.uk/household-zone/top-facts
10. https://www.recycle-more.co.uk/household-zone/top-facts
11.https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/10-shocking-facts-about-plastic