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Harmful effects of plastic bottles on the environment
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In 2005 more than twenty-two billion disposable plastic water bottles ended up in landfills or incinerators in the United States, that is an average of sixty million bottles a day (Franklin, 2006, para. 3). The wastefulness in the production of disposable water bottles and its process is just as astonishing. In 2011, an average 1.39 liters of water were used to produce one liter of water for disposable water bottles (Gustafson, 2013, para. 2). The water used to produce the bottle is the main problem; in the production of a one liter bottle of water it is estimated to require six or more liters of freshwater. Disposable water bottles are a constant contributing factor to the overuse of the limited resources of freshwater. Despite having many …show more content…
The manufacturing of the plastic bottle, cap, and label, requires a copious amount of freshwater. The water required in the production process may not need to be as filtered as the water put in the bottles, but the water still needs to be relatively clean. This water is used to cool and harden the plastic, as well as clean it. Most of this water comes tap water sources; these sources could be used for drinking water from tap or other more important uses. Industrial facilities have become more efficient in their water use, however, an outrageous amount of water is still used in manufacturing processes. Companies recognize the inefficient use of freshwater that is needed for other reasons. Some companies have made to cut back water use, such as Dasani’s bottle that is partly made from plants, but ultimately freshwater is still being wasted in the process. Once the freshwater is used to produce the bottle, cap, and label, the water then has to be re-filtered. After the production of the pieces to the bottles of water, the freshwater used to create, treat, and sanitize becomes dirty. Before the water can be reused by either the same company or other consumer the water must be cleaned, using even more water to filter and flush out any …show more content…
The bottle creates pollution that ultimately finds its way into the waterways (Bono-Blay, et al., 2014). The pollution contaminating the waterways requires treatment, such as filtering out plastic particles, so that it can be used again. In some instances, in both the Great Lakes and oceans the amount of plastic in the bodies of water can not be saved. This pollution not only affects the water, it can also go as far as affecting the health of consumers with chemicals from the plastics like bisphenol A (BPA) that have been traced in the water from these water bottles. A study by Chambers, Luke, Forrester, Rattray, and Badal (2015) reveals that BPA has effects that can harm human health. BPA is found in plastic polymers used to manufacture the plastic. In this study it is shown that BPA leaches into the water that the bottle contains, ultimately diffusing into human skin. This is also present in a study by Bono-Blay, Borrell, Guart, and Lacorte (2014) explaining that additives used in the process of the bottle can migrate into the water from the packaging, as well as from tanks and
Neustaedter, Randall (7/18/2004). Plastic Water Bottles. Retrieved July 31, 2008, from Holistic Pediatric Association Web site: http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/108/1/Plastic-Water-Bottles
As the bottled water becomes more popular, people prefer to drink bottle water over tap water. According to them, it has a better quality and taste. Unfortunately, people are being fooled by the water industries. The “purified” water, as its label, comes from municipal reserves. This research will discuss:
In the first article "The Curse of Water Bottles" the author is obviously trying to convince people to stop wasting bottles and recycle. For example "There are solutions like using your own personal water bottle and refilling it" and that would save from buying water bottles, and reduce some of the waste. It also states "Some cities are fining homeowners and businesses for not recycling" so that means even cities are trying to get people to stop wasting water bottles. Companies and/or states have tried putting rewards on the bottles if you return them, as stated "Some states have tried to put a nickel return fee on water bottles like those on soda and other beverages" but it still doesn't work out for everyone, because "grocery
Everyday millions of Americans come in contact with many different forms of plastics and think nothing about it. Whether its drinking from water bottles purchased at your local super market to eating leftovers from food storage containers in your refrigerator, plastics are everywhere in the world and it seems as if they’re here to stay. But have you heard of the chemical Bisphernol-A? Also known as BPA, this chemical compound is found in just about every plastic that you come in contact with and has created quite the uproar in the media over the last several years in question on its safety for consumer use. Scientists from around the world believe that BPA is the cause of many adverse health effects found in infants and adults, but the scientists aren’t the only ones voicing their opinions on the subject. Many concerned consumers in light of recent studies on the controversial BPA chemical are worried about what they themselves and their families are ingesting and exactly how it is affecting them. This problem amongst consumers has been so great that many companies such as Wal-Mart have demanded the removal of baby and infant products that contain the controversial chemical BPA from their store shelves.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
I chose to do my research about an ongoing issue with drinkable water. To narrow it down, I decided to concentrate on bottled water. This topic interests me personally, and I believe might be interesting for my classmates, as the issue affects everyone. Maybe if we realized the problems it causes, we would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a refillable steel container instead of plastic. I hope that my research will change the perspective of the reader about such a convenient thing – bottled water.
In today’s society it is uncommon to see people walking around without water. Those who carry water with them either have their water in a reusable bottle or have bought bottled water. Bottled water is the more commonly found type of water carried around, reason being that it is easy to just buy a huge pack so that a person can just grab a bottle a go. The problem with bottled water is that more often than not, the bottle does not get recycled, but instead gets thrown into the garbage. The problem with this is that the bottles end up in a landfill. However, in this past year alone American’s used “about 50 billion plastic water bottles” (Ban The Bottle, n.d., Para. 4). Most people do not see the big difference between bottled water and tap
Most individuals are exposed through diet via BPA leaching from food containers, food packaging or plastic bottles, while there is still risk from air, dust, and water (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2013). There are many reason why there needs to be stricter guidance and regulations on the release of BPA in household items such as baby bottles, plastic food containers, and canned goods to name a few. Some reasons why these countries are banning BPA are due to its ill effect on people. BPA is considered to be an endocrine-disruptive chemical, which have been linked through laboratory testing to developmental issues, diabetes, cancer and other ailments (Bardelline, 2011). Canada, most of the European Union, China, South Africa and Malaysia have all collectively banned BPA usage in different forms.
The US Container Recycling Institute estimates that 67 million plastic water bottles are discarded every day, which is enough to wrap around the planet 149 times each year. Therefore, plastic water bottles should be banned from public use. The usage of water bottles should be suppressed because they are incredibly dangerous, wasteful, expensive, and rarely recycled. Researchers have stated that plastic bottles containing water can contain many harmful chemicals. After close examination of the plastic, researchers have concluded that some plastics contain chemicals, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), endocrine disruptors, and carcinogens, which may leach into the water, especially after being stagnant for long periods of time.
According to the “Competition in the Bottled Water Industry in 2006 Case,” bottled water industry became the one of the world’s most attractive beverage categories, as more and more people began to focus on health and fitness. Consumers start realizing the need of proper hydration, and they began purchasing bottled water instead of drinking tap water, because they were worried about safety of tap water, which tasted like chemicals. Actually, tap water contained chemicals, such as chlorine and fluoride, which are harmful for human body; however, this problem was solved when the bottled water was brought to the market. Due to bottled water’s convenience, purity, and portability, and safety, bottled water industry began to rise rapidly. During
Promote social responsibility; recycle scrap water bottles and use recycled plastic in the production of our bottles
... converting plastic waste into useful products are being affected by pollution; this contamination is found within containers where plastics are collected. But the same risk of pollution carries downside consequences in which workers and people responsible for cleaning and disinfecting the plastic materials are not doing the best to eliminate plastic waste, and to disinfect the infected bacteria and microorganisms from the atmosphere and environment. Organizations from China and India are the largest in the world, they collect and purchase used plastic from United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America (Minguez 2013). These companies do not bother to sanitize the products before the recycling process; for this reason the planet earth is getting a worse environmental condition, and it is destroying lives of living beings, and natural resources as well (Uddin 2014).
Being convenient enough for everyday use and even tasting better to some, plastic bottles are a popular way of consuming beverages. They are convenient and to some people, can even taste better. However, the process of manufacturing and transporting the millions of bottles produced is detrimental to the environment. Continued use of plastic bottles could exponentially hurt the planet. Given all the negative effects that come from plastic, why are people still participating in this poisonous cycle?
As society goes through its day-to-day activities, it consumes an enormous amount of liquids. Of course, those liquids are packaged in various types of apparatuses, many of which are disposable. But disposable to whom? "Out of sight-out of mind," maybe? Granted, disposable and throwaway containers are a convenience for the moment, but they are rapidly becoming a devastating eye sore. Disposable bottles and cans invite enormous hazards to the environment.
Water scarcity is harmful to human life because when water is poorly managed throughout the world, those who need water are deprived of nutrients they truly need, causing them to die. This eventually affects the global population. Therefore, many experts have proposed several solutions such as the LifeSaver Bottle, TrojanUVPhox treatment system, and Waste Water Recycling. The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well, the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development.