NatureScapes.net Forums

The bottled water industry has won this one but, the environment has lost.

http://news.yahoo.com/bottled-water-cou ... 10312.html

Joe

Limiting the minimum size of pre filled water bottles (maybe 30oz) would go a long way in reducing the litter.
or better...
Treating each water bottle as recyclable with a .20/25 cent deposit would solve the litter problem. Even when people litter water bottles, others would pick them up for easy profit(like they do with cans). The systems to do this exist, are functioning in place, nation wide.

stevenmajor wrote:Limiting the minimum size of pre filled water bottles (maybe 30oz) would go a long way in reducing the litter.
or better...
Treating each water bottle as recyclable with a .20/25 cent deposit would solve the litter problem. Even when people litter water bottles, others would pick them up for easy profit(like they do with cans). The systems to do this exist, are functioning in place, nation wide.

That would eliminate much of the litter, but there are other ways that recycling bottles damages the environment, as pointed out by Roberta Olenick (neverspook) in this thread:

http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/view ... 7&t=248409

Joe

Doing nothing is criminal. Waiting for the perfect solution is foolish because there are no perfect solutions for the diverse imperfect species we are. The best option are noble behaviors that pay tribute to the "greater good".
I suggest recycling is better than doing nothing. It has immediate benefit to wildlife, can engender respect (for a more pristine park), and be a stepping stone to better solution.

Canned water would be a better solution, since it's easier and better for the environment to recycle metal than plastic. No different than soda cans. That would be "for the greater good".

Joe

SantaFeJoe wrote:Canned water would be a better solution, since it's easier and better for the environment  to recycle metal than plastic. No different than soda cans. That would be "for the greater good".

Joe

I have never understood the reluctance towards canned water. I get the visual appeal, but cans are so much better in so many ways.

Buddy brought me some Busch branded Canned Water from the relief effort in Texas. It was better than Budweiser.

Why cannot the consumers be expected to take their rubbish home?

There's no need for water bottles. At least not at the Grand Canyon. I go there often and bring my own refillable water bottles. There are drinking fountains and filling stations, and the water tastes great.

As for taking your trash home or having visitors recycle, most people are too lazy to be bothered with these issues.

Have Fun,
Jeff

More on bottled water:

http://ecowatch.com/2015/11/22/stop-dri ... led-water/

Joe

We all  want clean pure water that doesn't result in creating a bunch of trash, even if the trash is recyclable.  How to get there is a complex issue because so much tap water is contaminated.  Uranium is an especially troubling contaminant in the southwest US due to over 800 nuclear bomb tests in Nevada, mostly in the 1950's.  Googling this issue is downright scary.  Underground aquifers were damaged with abandon. 

I spent my career in the water purification and bottling industry, so it may seem I am biased, but I just as against the throw away bottles as anybody.  When I was in the industry, we utilized 5 gallon jugs which were returned, washed, and refilled.  They normally lasted 10 years before being ground up and made into plastic bottled water crates.  The throw away bottles were introduced at the end of my career.  They were embraced by the public over the big jugs.  Our company was hammered by the new throw away bottles, as they were not a part of our process. 

It is not possible to make exact statements about tap water, as where and when it is tested produces different findings.  But here is the general truth:  most tap water is much cleaner than either well water or spring water.  That is why many bottled water companies START with tap water.  But alarmists scream they are just bottling tap water as it came from the tap, but the big companies in the industry most definitely are NOT.  They run the tap water through deionization, multiple stage reverse osmosis, and activated charcoal before adding food grade minerals for flavor.   All good, except they put it in throw away bottles.

Solution?  One eco friendly and healthy way to go is a kitchen reverse osmosis filter so you can get clean water with no trash or wasted fuel use in water delivery.  I am retired from the industry and have nothing to gain from these statements.  Because this is one of the few subjects I am up on, my goal is to shed a little light upon this complex and challenging subject which directly affects our health and environment.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/31/ten-american-cities-with-worst-drinking-water/


http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/13/nation/na-radiation-nevada13

Steve, coming from San Diego, you need bottled water because the tap water is undrinkable (flavor) for much of the year. Even this time of year, both tap and bottled water tastes salty. I notice it because our local tap water can be used in batteries as distilled water. Every plastic container should have 20cent deposit which when improperly disposed of will be recycled by the bottle gathers and homeless to put bread (or alcohol) on the table. Living in Oregon, it is rare to see carbonated beverage bottles or cans lying around because of the deposit placed on the containers.

Recycling does not solve the plastic pollution problem. Recycling actually seems to cause even smaller particles to be introduced into the environment. The synthetic grass carpet in my porch is really breaking down and needs to be disposed of so as not to pollute the runoff water. Read this thread, and especially the replies by never spook (Roberta), to learn more about the problems with recycled plastic bottles:

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=248409

Joe

Steve Cirone wrote: They run the tap water through deionization, multiple stage reverse osmosis, and activated charcoal before adding food grade minerals for flavor. 

Interesting to learn that minerals are added for flavor. I'm glad to hear that some companies add minerals. I always thought that the bottled water that I've tasted was so bland because of the minerals and other things were removed! The same thing seems true for water run through a filter such as the "Zero Water" filter my wife uses. I prefer our tap water here to most bottled or filtered water.

Joe