One simple change.
That’s all it takes.
One, small change in your every day habits can have an everlasting impact on the environment.
The use and disposal of plastic water bottles are detrimental to our planet today. Switching from a disposable water bottle to a reusable one is not only a smart choice for yourself, but a smart choice for the planet as well.
According to National Geographic, 91 percent of plastic is not recycled.
Plastic is not biodegradable, which leads bottled water to not break down naturally. Instead, plastic sits on earth for hundreds of years.
The production of plastic also comes at a high cost for the planet. For every ounce of polyethylene, or, plastic, an ounce of carbon dioxide is omitted into the air.
Plastic bottles end up in places like landfills and the oceans, which have a dangerous effect on our wildlife. Animals can mistake the plastic for food and eat it. A dead sperm whale washed on the shores of southern Spain whos stomach had 64 pounds of trash in it. This isn’t the first animal that was famous because they were harmed by plastic in oceans. In 2015, a video went viral of a sea turtle having a plastic straw removed from its nostril.
Reusable water bottles can easily be refilled from a sink, water fountain or public filter. Studies have even shown that tap water may be safer and healthier to drink rather than bottled.
Tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, while bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA. Therefore tap water actually has more credible regulations in comparison to bottled water.
Drinking from the tap is also cheaper than constantly buying pre-bottled water.
A bottle of water from Wawa can range from $2.00 to $5.00 depending on the size and brand. Similarly, a case of water from Target is also about $3 and $5. Over days and weeks of buying bottled water the cost adds up. Purchasing a cheap, reusable water bottle from Amazon or other local stores and refilling it daily is healthier for your wallet and the environment.
Whether it may be at school, at work or hanging around the house, it is important to be conscious of your daily habits and the waste that it being created by them.
While a disposable bottle is easy to grab and go when in a hurry, it is not worth the damage to the present and future of our precious planet.
