Most of us love plastic water bottles, they are the epitome of a commodity. Water is essential as we consume it every day and it is easy to head out and pick up a water bottle from the pack. Too often it seems almost like a thing we don’t think twice about. However there is a problem with plastic water bottles, they are not sustainable!
Of course it is obvious that as an environmental studies major, I would hold this opinion but in reality, not too long ago I was unphased by plastic water bottles. However in learning about this notorious and unnecessary product, I learned to live without it and I hope to convince you too, well hopefully!
During the winter quarter my freshman year, I was feeling homesick in the weirdest way, through the water coming out of my tap! I couldn’t put a finger to it, it tasted as if the water was tainted with some type of mineral that made it taste earthy and led to an unpleasant feeling as it gushed down my throat.
I was so used to the water back home which is supplied mainly be the Hetch Hetchy water system that of course was notorious for destroying part of Yosemite Valley but that topic is for another article.
I grew up with that water and I could drink it straight out of the tap and it was the purest, freshest tasting water I’ve had. Coming to the Santa Clara Valley I realized that there is a higher amount of water from other sources, including groundwater. This led me to decide I wanted to invest in buying Smart Water to eliminate the mineral taste from my everyday routine.
That took a huge toll on my meal points that quarter as you could imagine buying these 1-liter bottles at around 4 dollars a piece. I was spending so much money on something as simple as water. I had to come up with a better solution.
Spring quarter rolled by and I took an Intro to Environmental Studies class and in that class was when I decided I needed to completely stop buying plastic water bottles. The problem with these bottles, beyond the externalities associated with producing and transporting them, is that they are only meant for a single use!
That was a huge waste of energy just so you could down half a liter of water and toss the bottle away. It blew my mind, thus I realized the commodification of the plastic water bottle is a troublesome issue. Yes, there may be instances where bottled water may be the only viable source of water, but for everyday use, it should be discouraged. I know that the tap water here is the bay area is pretty safe to drink.
So if you had the choice to drink that bottled water that was produced far away with waters from other states or the one from your tap, which will you pick? For the environment's sake please drink more tap water and leave the bottled one for those rare occasions.
Probably one of my other huge investments was buying a Brita filter which I used to purify the water from my tap. Which has led me to where I am today, although my water isn’t to the standard I would want it to be, it comforts me to know that I am not contributing to the plastic problem that ultimately causes pollution in both land and sea. There is just too large of a carbon footprint on something so trivial as a plastic bottle.
This led me to purchase my first Hydro Flask which I thought was the coolest thing ever and at the same time reduce my carbon footprint in this world! Let me tell you, a reusable water bottle and a water filter make the best combo! So next time you drink from a plastic water bottle imagine where this water traveled from and what was needed to produce the plastic only for you to consume it in that instant.
