Reusable Water Bottles
Plastic water bottles were first introduced to Australiain the late 1980s, and these days we’re wastingbillions of dollars per yearon them! It’s not the monetary cost of the product that’s most mind-boggling, though, but the expenditure of resources involved in the water sourcing, bottle manufacture, and transportation.
The fact isit takes three to seven litres of water, and one litre of oil (a little less when theInternational Bottled Water Association is crunching the numbersyet even much more inother studies) to produce one litre of bottled water. This creates over 60,000 tons ofgreenhouses gasesa yearin Australia alone, without even factoring in what happens to the ‘recyclable’ bottles after consumption.
Typically bottles are not recycled properly, If at all, and end up in landfill, taking some 1,000 years to biodegrade. When they are recycled correctly, the vast majority aredispatched overseas to third-world nations to be ‘downcycled’, which in turn leads to more discarded waste and toxic pollution by way of incineration.
What about those new lightweight plastics? Nope, these are just as bad, if not worse for our oceanssays The Boomerang Alliance. And it’s really a weak case when you consider thatAustralian tap water is higher qualityand subject to more stringent testing than bottled alternatives.
The best option is a simple one: turn to your own refillable bottle – be it made of sleek glass, sturdy aluminum, reusable plastic, or otherwise.
Some Reusable Designs We Like
Memobottle A6($39.95) fromMake Designed Objects– itall started in Melbourne!
Retap Glass Water Bottle, 500ml, ($34.95) fromMagnation.
S’wellDrink Bottle500ml ($59.95).
Your standard home/office/café drinking glass– conserve your own porter energy by taking a moment to hydrate before heading out. If in urgent need, before you reach for a plastic disposable, put on a smile and ask a cafe owner for a glass from the tap.
Public bubblers– suss out water fountains in the areas you frequent or turn to these maps forMelbourne(thanksRob Adams!),Sydney, andBrisbanelocations.