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Ditch Disposable

We live in an era of disposables. Use it once and into the trash it goes. And among the most problematic of the disposables are plastic water bottles. They’re so convenient when you’re out and about and are suddenly struck by a mighty thirst. A nice chilled bottle of water is readily available at any corner store, but that convenience comes at a price. Empty plastic bottles are inundating landfills, as well as littering streets and finding their way into rivers and streams, eventually washing into the oceans.

The environmental challenges we face today are so overwhelming that it’s easy to feel that there’s really nothing we can do to make things better.  But take heart. There are small changes we can undertake that gradually add up, making a difference in our own lives, and when widely shared, in the life of the planet.

Ditching disposable plastic water bottles is a good place to begin. A reusable water bottle can reduce your contribution to the enormous stream of plastic waste. CamelBak points out that the average American uses approximately 18 plastic water bottles a month. As more and more people choose to reuse, the number of plastic bottles saved grows by leaps and bounds. CamelBak believes that more than 10 million bottles worth of water have been diverted to reusable bottles since they began their Ditch Disposable campaign back in 2011.

CamelBak has contributed to the conversion from single-use plastic water bottles to reusables with their Hydration Stations at festivals like Austin City Limits. Both reusable water bottles and hydration packs are filled with triple filtered water. They’ve been keeping tabs on the number of fillups; and at ACL alone, CamelBak credits reusables with keeping over 3,000,000 bottles from being added to the plastic stream.

Another benefit of reusable bottles is the money you’ll save. Take your reusable bottle with you when you travel. Many airports now have water filling stations that are specially made for reusable bottles. You probably remember the outrageous price you paid for your last bottle of water at an airport. Now that money stays in your pocket.

A final reason for ditching disposable comes from the EPA. They report that plastic is so durable that “every bit of plastic ever made, still exists.” Plastic tends to break down into smaller and smaller pieces rather than decompose like organic materials. Though unseen without the aid of microscopes, microplastics are contaminating our waters and oceans with environmental impacts as yet uncertain. Let’s help decrease the amount of plastic that’s being created for water bottles by taking our reusable water bottles with us wherever we go.