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Most of us are doing well just to get in our eight glasses a day. But if you care about both your health and the environment, you need to know the facts about the water bottles that keep your H20 close at hand all day.
Environmental concerns are beginning to trump convenience when it comes to single-use plastic water bottles. With more consumers becoming eco-conscious, consumption of bottled water fell nearly 4 percent during 2007, according to Beverage Marketing Group, as people reach for their reusable water bottles. But concerns about the toxin BPA in reusable plastic bottles has added to consumer confusion about which kind of reusable water bottle is safest. Here’s a guide to help you weigh your options.
What’s wrong with reusable plastic water bottles?
Reusable plastic bottles have been in the hot seat since several studies indicated that bottles made with a manmade hardening chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA, long used to make polycarbonate bottles, could leach into water in low doses. One study by scientists at the University of Cincinnati found that leaching increased if the plastic was heated.
The Canadian government then declared BPA a toxic substance, triggering a ban on products made with BPA, including baby bottles, other baby products and water bottles, according to research compiled by the Boston-based Clean Water Fund.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are conducting ongoing studies into the effects of the chemical but did release preliminary data last year showing that neonatal exposure to low levels of BPA in rats caused cancerous growths.
Manufacturers and retailers that sell plastic bottles in the United States reacted by switching over to BPA-free polycarbonate bottles.
Should you switch to a metal water bottle?
You can avoid plastics altogether with a reusable stainless steel or aluminum water bottle. Unlike BPA-free plastics, they’re not made from petroleum products. Metal water bottles are more durable than plastic, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration requires that aluminum bottles sold in America be lined to eliminate the possibility of metals leaching into the drinking water inside.
Some consumer product makers are now offering beverages like beer and sports drinks in aluminum bottles rather than glass or plastic. Manufacturers point out that the composition of the metal also tends to keep water colder for longer than other containers.
Aluminum bottles are also 100 percent recyclable (so if your bottle got crushed by a Mack truck, you could put it right in the blue bin with the empty soda cans). Aluminum is the most commonly recycled post-consumer metal in the world, according to The Aluminum Association.
Can’t you just refill that Dasani bottle?
Not so fast. Because they’re made with a particular petroleum-based or PET plastic, the bottles used for packaged drinking water may not be safe to refill and reuse multiple times. And, while the American Plastics Council says daily washing with soap and hot water will prevent contamination, there's a concern by some that frequent washing can cause leaching of possibly harmful chemicals into the water. Yet not washing them means icky bacteria grow quickly in the porous plastic.
Single-use bottles are also far from eco-friendly. Eighty-six percent of plastic water bottles sold end up clogging landfills, and they take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, according to the American Recycling Institute. Plus, transporting bottled water from far-flung places like Fiji and France to U.S. stores takes another bite out of the planet, gobbling up about 1.5 million barrels of fossil fuels a year.
The bottom line
To do right by both your health and your planet, grab a BPA-free reusable water bottle made of the most eco-friendly material you can find. And make a point of bringing a full reusable bottle with you each day — in the car, at the office, traveling — to avoid the need for single-use plastic water bottles.
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