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Plastic bottle effects on environment
The problem with plastic water bottles
Problem with plastic water bottles
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A Case Against Bottled Water There is and has been a growing market for a product that is potentially dangerous, not only to people, but to our environment as well. This product is well-known and used daily by millions of Americans: plastic water bottles. These single use bottles of water may be convenient, but at what risks? Every second, people in America use 1,500 plastic water bottles (Mangor & Taft, 2013). After they are empty, these bottles must go somewhere, but where? Less than 25% of plastic water bottles are recycled leaving 2 billion pounds per year to find a home other than reuse (Walsh & Massey, 2013). Many people feel that they are making a wise choice in using these, but the opposite is true. Disposable plastic water bottles are not a smart choice because they contribute to global warming, produce too much waste, and could have health risks. Disposable plastic water bottles are sometimes thought to be an intelligent choice; however, research and trends have shown that is not the case. Plastic water bottles contribute to global warming because it takes so much fossil fuel to make the water bottles and to transport them. Twenty bottles of Fiji …show more content…
These people may be concerned with contaminants in their local water supply. Looking at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, they do have legitimate concerns. The entire population of the city was exposed to toxic tap water with levels of lead twice what is needed to dub it hazardous material. The government of that city failed its residents and ignored high levels of lead and bacteria in the tap water sourced from the Flint River. Two years after the discovery of this, the tap was still not safe to drink (Duffy, 2016). Bottled water can definitely be more convenient when it comes to sports games, crowds, camping, etc. It would also be more ideal if everyone made an effort to recycle the plastic water bottles that they
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
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
Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our environment, severely polluting oceans, beaches, forests, and even the towns and cities we live in. In the ocean alone, it is believed that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic pollutes the waters (“Plastic Statistics”, Ocean Crusaders).The majority of plastic pollution can be traced back to single-use items, such as grocery bags, bottles, and plastic packaging. According to United Nations Environment, “At the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish…” (“UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic”, UN Environment). This pollution is a major problem and endangers not only the environment, but human
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
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
In recent years, it has become blatantly obvious that the Earth’s environmental deterioration is showing signs towards a cause of global concern. Drastic increases in water pollution, global warming, and deforestation, among other environmental issues have caused a sudden desire to raise awareness of and to resolve human-initiated problems. One of the more controversial topics involving human impact on environment is the excessive use of plastic, specifically in the form of plastic bags. Used for their convenience, durability, and inexpensive nature, plastic bag production and consumption has exploded, allowing them to become a seemingly necessary part of everyday life. Unfortunately, however, this abuse of plastic bags has brought a slew of environmental health
Plastic Water Bottles and the OASIS More Alike Than You Think It is commonly understood that drinking water and recycling plastic bottles makes you healthier and more environmentally conscious. However, according to banthebottle.net, recycling plastic water bottles actually does more harm than good. In fact, “making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year…” (Bottled Water Facts).
For ever water bottle made, non-renewable resources are wasted to produce an unnecessary luxury. For the bottled water Americans enjoy, seventeen million barrels of oil are used (excluding transportation), which could fuel more than 1.3 million cars for a year. Most water is imported and exported from places that are thousands of miles away, like Fiji. Although oil is controversial in nature, for every one liter of water produced, three liters are used; the excess water wasted can supply clean water to the world’s poorest countries. Moreover, the energy used in bottle production can supply energy to over 190,000 homes. The resources that can be replaced by ceasing the production of water bottles can solve many global problems faced by a growing population.
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
Notably, water bottles are actually very harmful to our environment for a plethora of reasons. First there size, water bottles take up tons of space in our landfills when we could be recycling them. Every 5 minutes 4 football fields are filled up with water bottles this creates major problems for landfills and makes it so landfills have to take up more precious space in our earth. Next water bottles take up tons of oil to make then we also have to
Promote social responsibility; recycle scrap water bottles and use recycled plastic in the production of our bottles
Americans are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint. However, the average American consumes 167 plastic water bottles per year, yet only recycles 38
And there are some respective solutions for these three aspects. For government, good policies must be implemented to try to mitigate the disastrous impact that plastic exerts on marine life. For company: The beverage industry has the responsibility to decrease and minimize the consumption of plastic. Companies must find new approaches that work in accord with good environmental policies. Cafes and restaurants should also offer reusable bottles and cups instead of disposable ones. For consumers: Consumers should realize that plastic is not ecofriendly. The effect of Raising public awareness and improving education cannot be ignored. Education on excessive use of plastic may be useful to improve a movement to reduce plastic among
Leonard shows us how passionate she is about the topic and how she ventured across the world to see how consumerism is affecting not only us, but countries all over the world. She worked hard in her research to show us that the plastic bottle is a concept that can destroy our ecosystems and in return hurt us as individuals.
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.