It's Earth Day. And in recognition, I extended a challenge to my Facebook friends on how many plastic bottles they use, and if they could go longer than myself without using another one. Since January of 2009, I have used 5 plastic bottles- total. That includes water bottles, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, etc. Many messaged me incredulously wondering how I could have used only 5 plastic bottles in over 16 months. I insist that it isn't as tough as some may think. A little willingness for personal sacrifice in lieu of broader reaching payoffs, I feel, is far more rewarding. And not too mention, these "personal sacrifices" I contend are actually part of a healthier lifestyle, so I don't consider them sacrifices at all. So, without further ado, here are some suggestions to reducing your carbon footprint and diminishing your waste.
1) Purchase an aluminum water bottle. Try not to buy plastic or one with a plastic drinking nozzle. My bottle has a plastic cap that screws on, but the rim is aluminum, so the liquid rarely touches any plastic. Plastic contains BPA which leaches into liquids, even the nozzle on your bottles will leach. BPA has been shown to cause a wide array of health problems from cancer, to obesity, to Thyroid dysfunction... There's a whole list of crap it can cause. Now, the aluminum can leach also, but there have been no conclusive studies illuminating serious health risks posed by the trace amounts of aluminum that leaches compared to the trace amounts of BPA that does. But it's also important to remember that you should never leave the water sitting in the bottle for long periods of time. If the liquid has been in there for, let's say, 5 days to a week (even while in the fridge), it's probably a good idea to dump it, rinse the bottle, and refill. This also prevents any bacteria from building up inside.
2) If you find yourself out on a Friday or Saturday night and in need of water after leaving the bar (which I find far more often than I'd like to admit), buy a drink in a glass bottle, or one of my personal favorites, the pints of Tropicana orange juice that come in the paper cartons. Both the glass and carton are far more easily recyclable. Plus, while the plastic water bottles are generally imported, using 100Ks of gallons of oil to produce and ship, Tropicana is processed right here in the US, without the needless use of so much oil for production and transportation. So, this is kind of a two-prong attack on fossil fuel consumption (not too mention directly benefiting an American company). Also, before leaving the bar, grab a glass of water to help avoid the urge to stop at the grocery or a bodega on the corner.
3) Ask for tap water at a restaurant. If they don't serve it, refuse water. New York City has the 13th best drinking water in the country. For my Upstate friends, Buffalo has the 15th. We're drinking some of the cleanest water in the country. And bottled water is not necessarily cleaner. Public drinking water is more regulated and tested than the water in plastic bottles. Also, the water in plastic bottles is about 40% tap water anyway. The lax regulation on bottled water leads to the allowance of BPA in the plastic. And for your home: by a water filter for your spigot if you're concerned your town, or city's drinking water is not clean enough.
4) This last one never really struck me until several people messaged me and asked, "What about soda?" First, I don't drink soda regularly. So, perhaps I'm at a more advantageous point than many who do drink soda with meals, or with snacks. But I do enjoy my Jack & Cokes, so I'll just say order them at the bar. Most bars have the fountains, where the soda is brought in in large canisters and carbonated on site, so no plastic bottles are generally used in this case. If you do enjoy mixing up some drinks at home, there probably isn't much of an alternative to buying a 2-liter of Coke other than finding a preferable drink without soda. Obviously, I refrain from doing this, sometimes much to my own displeasure, but I have started to enjoy screwdrivers so much more! Again, this is kind of a more personal sacrifice, but ultimately a more healthy one. We all know sodas are loaded with sugar, are fattening, cause too decay, can lead to diabetes, etc. Replace your soda with a glass of water at home.
Well, I guess that's about it. I hope these suggestions are helpful, or at least enlightening. If you want to take up the challenge, please feel free to comment occasionally on how you are doing. I will try as well, but more likely will post should temptation strike and my will power crack.
Happy Earth Day!
I've taken your challenge and still have yet to use a plastic bottle (not including the reusable bottle which was given to me a year or two ago at a fair). It has been a little more challenging than I expected, but not much, considering I never really used bottles much before anyway. I was actually surprised to learn, not how much I used plastic bottles before, but how little. However, there have been a number of times where I have actively had to think about ways to avoid using a bottle.
ReplyDeleteWow, every time I try to post here I have trouble... I just spend over half an hour detailing all the times I've avoided using a plastic bottle and what I did to do so..and it didn't post. I even purposefully copied and pasted because I thought I might lose what I wrote, and then it still didn't work, and I lost what I wrote... Sigh.
ReplyDeleteFrom arayofsunshine: I'll post what I have done in that hopes that it might inspire others:
ReplyDelete1) The Lunch Crunch: Sometimes, although not often, I purchase a 20 oz diet soda bottle with lunch at the local deli. Other times, I manage by just drinking water from the work cooler (in my reusable bottle), purchasing a diet snapple in a glass bottle, or buying diet soda cans in bulk. I have been able to purposefully avoid buying any soda bottles for lunch by using those options (sometimes the fountain soda is an option as well, but it's rare that I am eating somewhere that offers this).
From arayofsunshine:
ReplyDelete2) The Beach: It is nearly impossible, and pretty ill-advised to spend a day at the beach without water. On a recent beach trip, I was leaving from my mom's house and wanted to grab some water for the day. In her fridge, she only had little water bottles (which I have asked her to buy less...she claims she reuses them...). I continued looking around and found an old reusable thermos-bottle in her cabinet. I filled that with tap water and went on my way. I still have yet to purchase an aluminum bottle - partly because of time and partly because I'm still nervous about the tinny taste...
3) The Sunny Day's Walk: I recently was out walking for a long time and did not want to have to carry anything. Of course, after awhile I became thirsty. I tried to quench my thirst with some city water fountains, but it wasn't enough. So, I stopped a a street vendor, but he only had plastic-bottled options. I walked until I found a grocery store where I was able to purchase a diet snapple in a glass bottle. I'm not sure this is much better, but it's a step in the right direction.
From a rayofsunshine (cont.):
ReplyDelete4) The Hookah Bar: It's tough to smoke flavored tobacco whilst drinking an alcoholic beverage and not need something on the side without alcohol, namely, water. A few of us who were out ordered water from the bartender and were surprised when she brought us back bottles, without having even asked what we preferred. When I complained that we wanted tap water, the bartender explained that she was not "allowed" to give us tap water. Two out of three people sent their bottles back, unopened. Instead, I ordered a plain fountain cranberry juice.
5) The Movie Theater: Everyone loves soda at the movies, and I realize fountain is usually an option, if you want to pay more for your drink than you did your movie ticket... So I often stop a store first and buy a bottle of diet soda. Uh oh! I looked around the nearest convenience store for something to drink, and the best I could do was the diet snapple again, glass bottle.
From arayofsunshine (cont.):
ReplyDelete6) The Pizza Tour: Some friends and I recently decided to go around the city trying different pizza shops. However, not all of them were sit down shops that offered fountain drinks and tap water. At one location, Artichoke, I bought a can of soda, but it was not enough to quench my thirst. Instead of buying a bottle of water somewhere, I spotted a street fair and purchased a lemonade. Granted, the lemonade was served in a plastic up with a plastic straw, but I believe it is still less plastic than a bottle would be.
7)The Grocery Store: Once or twice every month or so, I'm used to purchasing a bottle of fruit juice for my apartment, typically apple or cranberry juice. Sometimes water just isn't enough, when you are really craving something sweet. I've avoided doing this so far, but I have yet to really find a suitable solution. Any suggestions? Snapple is not real fruit and Tropicana orange juice is good, but it is a very different taste from the sweeter fruit juices. Plus, I drink so much orange juice that I often end up buying the largest version, which itself comes in a bottle, not a carton, because it's less expensive and less wasteful (or so I thought) than buying a bunch of cartons. Any solutions??
From arayofsunshine (last):
ReplyDelete8) The Pot-Luck Party: At work recently we were having a pot-luck lunch party, and everyone was tasked with bringing in a dish or beverage. By the time I was ready to purchase, an email had just gone around saying only beverages were needed. The party was in an hour or two and I went to the closest store to work. However, there were no work-approrpiate beverages in a large enough size for a group that did not come in a plastic bottle. I just pretended I hadn't seen the email yet, and purchased donuts instead. At the party, I noticed that nearly all of the beverages were plastic soda bottles. However, somebody had brought in tropical fruit juice, apricot juice, in a little rectangle carton. I recognized this as typical juice boxes from Latin America. To avoid even using the plastic soda bottles, I drank the apricot juice, which was very tasty. I wonder if this might be a solution to my fruit juice dilemna? However, I believe the exotic cartons are difficult to find in most neighborhoods...
Well, looking back at what I've just wrote, perhaps I avoided using more bottles than I even realized, and it really wasn't that hard, just took a little effort. However, I wonder how much better it really is to use a glass bottle, or a plastic or paper cup, or even a can. Should we all be drinking only raindrops? Something to ponder...