IT HAS TO STOP.

I need to vent…

Whenever I see someone walking down the street with a plastic drink bottle in their hands I want to ask: “Why does the earth have to deal with your waste for the next 10,000 years just because you were kinda thirsty?!” Why do we think we are entitled to use all of this plastic and generate such massive amounts of garbage that will never decompose?! IT HAS TO STOP.

Up until 100 years ago, human beings survived without an ounce of plastic. I recognize that plastics are quite helpful when it comes to delivering IV medicine or the manufacture of a bicycle helmet, but our excessive use of it in everyday things has become a nasty addiction.

Plastics are dangerous, so I am cutting them out where possible. By now, the dangers of bisphenol-A, a building block of several plastics and plastic additives, are well known. At most serious risk are pregnant women, fetuses, infants and children, in whom small amounts of BPA have been shown to cause growth and behavioral problems. BPA contains estrogen-like chemicals, which have been linked to fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and several cancers in animal studies. As of last month, the FDA announced a decision to reconsider BPA safety levels. While they ponder the pros & cons, I’ll continue on my personal no plastics crusade. Better safe than sorry.

Bottled water is convenient but expensive. I find it silly that Americans whine about $3.00 gas, but don’t think twice about paying just as much for a bottle of water that probably came from a municipal water source. My solution? I carry a KleanKanteen stainless steel water bottle with me everywhere I go, every time I leave the house. Made from recyclable, 18/8, food-grade stainless steel that’s 100% BPA- and toxin-free, Klean Kanteen™ bottles keep drinks cool, fresh and clean tasting.

Plus, the large-mouth makes it easy to throw in ice cubes and quick to clean too—just scrub it out with soap and water or toss it in the dishwasher. My sister-in-law recently gave us a KidKanteen Sippy, so little Evelyn now matches her mom and dad. Too cute!

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6 Comments for this entry

  1. Paige says:

    Hmmm….I just started using a Brita pitcher at home and I was thinking about picking up a pack of there at the container store:
    [url=http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=21437281&itemIndex=9&CATID=253&PRODID=10024891]WaterWeek Bottles[/url]
    Going to have to think about that KleenKanteen. Looks pretty nice. I have to say that plastics drive me NUTS too. It's so handy to have bottled water, but I hate dealing with the waste.

  2. Maureen says:

    The link didn't work – can you resend?

    We use a Brita, too. They are BPA free and you can send the filters back for recycling. Cool!

  3. Brian, Lynne, Emilia, Elise says:

    Thanks Maureen,
    Interesting to find so much plastic everywhere. From the movie "The Graduate" the future is in plastics…an understatment. Shampoo bottles, cups, makeup holders, contact lenses, every toy I have in the house is plastic I think, parts on the crib and bassinet, stroller, carseats….pretty scary…

  4. Janet says:

    I totally agree that reusable water bottles are best for the environment. On the subject of plastic and going green, I’m curious what your thoughts are on Carnegie Mellon’s 2008 EIO-LCA Green Design Institute’s findings that plastics can be a better choice for the environment than glass. The publication is long but summarized here: http://www.h2omwater.com/H2Om_glass-vs-plastic.pdf It found that glass consumes 2x more energy to produce than plastic and produces 3x more air pollution. In addition, it is lighter to transport (less fuel waste), more resilient (no broken jars resulting in waste), and easier to use (a plastic ketchup bottle can be squeezed to get out all of the ketchup, so less waste again).

    If the water bottles you see are being recycled, they may not be so bad for the environment. 🙂 Just wanted to throw that out there for the plastic users like me!

  5. Maureen says:

    The sad truth is that nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are NOT recycled. They end up in landfills where they will sit in their present state FOREVER.

    While it may cost less to transport plastic, my focus is on cutting out excessive consumption of everything. We do not need to consume so much stuff.

  6. Amber says:

    I know you published this in 2009, but I am new to your blog 🙂
    I am sooooo glad I am not the only one that gets frustrated with the use of plastic water bottles. I just really don’t understand why you would pay for (in most cases) tap water or the equivalent of. Why would you create so much waste? Why not use a reusable water container? I also get so annoyed when I see people at the grocery store using plastic produce bags. Why on Earth do you need to put your bananas (or any produce) in a plastic bag? Sorry to add to the venting, just wanted to chime in 😉

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