by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The concept of disposable plastic items has, honestly, got to be one of the most stupid ideas in all of human history. On the same level, about, as nuclear energy, disposable plastics are made for a one-time only use and then end up as toxic waste that lasts almost forever. Its convenient and cheap in the short term, and polluting and cancer-causing in the long term. Plastic also does not biodegrade and there is no such thing as biodegradable or compostable plastic with the exception of that kind that is made with corn starch or lactic acids. Other plastics simply are not biodegradable and especially not compostable. Plastics do not biodegrade, they just simply, slowly, break down in the environment, that is to say this is true for plastic bags and other products of the polyethylene and related ranges. Harder plastics simply do not break down and they will still be down in that landfill or in the bush in a 1000 years. Only glass lasts longer.
The greatest problem with plastic, whether bottles, cutlery, dishes, etc., is that they will last for centuries if not nigh on forever in the soil and if they slowly break down – into ever smaller and smaller particles of still plastic – they release harmful substances into soil and water.
A shocking factoid: Americans use 2.5 million bottles every hour. Oh my.
So, what is one to do? As far as water bottles and bottled water is concerned this is easy. Just stop using both. Get yourself one of those reusable water bottles – no, it does not have to look like the army on exercise. Get the best water bottle you can find and afford and carry it with you wherever you go.
Concerned about quality of tap water? Don't be! There is no need, at least not in our developed countries, in the main. Pepsi's brand of bottled water, Aquafina, is the best-selling brand of water in the United States and it is – well guess what? – tap water – plain and simple. Coca-Cola's brand Dasani, is also nothing but tap water. So, why are you going to buy bottled water in plastic bottles?
We must all, well those that buy bottles water for sure, be stupid – tap water in a bottle.. at what cost? Who in their right mind – then again, oh well – would pay $2 and more for a bottle of what is more than likely tap water, even though it way have been filtered through charcoal and such? Doh! The mind boggles. We can do that also at home and at the office with water filters of the various kinds.
What is really amazing is that those Whole Food and Health Food stores, those claiming to be “green”, are also selling bottled water, in disposable plastic bottles. This does not compute.
Lets change the number one selling item at Whole Foods from plastic bottled water to stainless steel water bottles, and turn our future landfills into future land trusts. And let us all go and get reusable water bottles – whichever one is irrelevant, just get one, or even two or three, and use them.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
Reusable water bottles -vs- Plastic disposable bottles
