Small Change from Plastic to Reusable = Big Impact

Use reusable water bottles versus plastic… PLEASE! One small action with a HUGE impact! PLASTIC=VERY BAD
By: Rachel Bauman

TOP 3 REASON WHY: (My personal opinion)

#1 Plastic NEVER "dies"! All un-recycled plastic ends up in landfills: Tons of people do not recycle due to lack of education and inconvenience. It is averaged that around 28 billions bottles of water are sold a year and in the U.S about 86% of those are NOT recycled. (THAT LEAVES 24 BILLION IN LANDFILLS/YEAR, 66 MILLION/DAY.. NOT GOOD!)

True but Sad Fact: Plastic never biodegrades completely, it only turns 
into smaller and smaller bits of plastic through photodegradation (a process from sunlight) never truly going away. These small 
bits of plastic end up in the ocean and birds and other marine life consume them and die.

The Pacific Trash Vortex is a prime example of the lack of recycling in our world today and the mass amount of plastic humans use. This mass of plastic garbage is twice as big as Texas and is know as the biggest landfill on Earth made up of 90% plastic bottles. It is found between Hawaii and California and another between Japan and Hawaii. This is only 1 of 5 plastic vortexes that cover 40% of the worlds’ oceans. =(

    #2 Personal Cost $:
Sure it's convenient to have plastic water bottles ready to go when you’re running out the door and you don’t have to worry about losing it, but did you know the recommended 8 glasses/day costs you around $.49/day while the same amount of bottled water will run you $1,400? Easy to see that having a reusable water bottle will pay off shortly after purchasing it. Install a filter on your sink or use a refrigerator with a filter. It takes 1-2 minutes to fill up!! Stop paying for WATER! Be grateful that we live in a place where it is easily accessible and available to us! And STOP WASTING your money! 

Crazy fact: Worldwide bottled water market is estimated to reach $65.9 billion by 2012, and is growing twice as fast as the economy itself.

   #3 Manufacturing wasting TONS of a NON-renewable resource... PETROLEUM!
Just to make bottled water is a huge expense to our environment. Production of plastic releasing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and is a huge threat to global warming. In 2006 Americans alone bought enough plastic water bottles to use up 17 millions barrels of oil which is equivalent to fueling over 1 millions cars for a whole year!

Another “fun” fact about how much energy it cost to have bottled water is to picture filling the bottle of water 1 quarter full of oil. Crazy right?

MY POINT? Stop being lazy and find more ways to recycle plastic and reduce your consumption. Here are a few tips!

  1. Use canvas bags at grocery store and stay away from the plastic ones.

  2. Educate yourself as to which plastic containers go into your curbside recycling and find places that take the other kinds. (yogurt cans & such) If you put the wrong things in your recycling many times garbage companies will just toss it ALL into the trash, so be SMART!

    3. Ask local grocery stores if they can recycle your old plastic bags.

    4.  BUY A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE AND ACTUALLY USE IT!

And remember, every small thing you change in your own life DOES make an impact on our environment. Be conscience of your actions and do your best to recycle and ultimately consume less plastic!

Thanks! =)

Sources:

http://www.greenyour.com/lifestyle/food-drink/drinking-water/tips/use-reusable-water-bottles

http://www.bulletinbottle.com/frequently-asked-questions/reusable-water-bottles-vs-bottled-water

http://earth911.com/news/2011/06/16/why-dont-americans-recycle-more-plastic/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/how-long-does-it-take-for-plastics-to-biodegrade.htm

PLEASE RECYCLE PLASTIC (and all other materials!)