Greening Your Kitchen: Say 'Buh-Bye' to Bottled Water
I'm afraid that I have some bad news. Although drinking bottled water may seem like a harmless, even a healthy, thing to do, it's actually a really bad habit. Those bottles of cold, crystal clear, fresh spring water may become considerably less appealing if you consider the following factoids (courtesy of the Center for a New American Dream, Grist, and Treehugger.)
Purity
* 25%-40% of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is actually just tap water (in a plastic bottle.)
* Tap water is actually more strictly regulated than bottled water. The EPA monitors all tap water while the FDA regulates only some bottled water.
* A four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and neurotoxin styrene.
Cost
* Tap water costs roughly 1 cent a gallon; bottled water costs up to $10 a gallon (WAY more expensive than gasoline!)
* Drinking the recommended daily amount of water using bottled water can cost up to $1,400 per year; drinking the same amount from the tap costs around 59 cents for the year, according to the New York Times.
* Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water in 2006.
Waste
* It takes THREE gallons of water to produce ONE drinkable gallon of bottled water.
* 86% of plastic bottles in the United States never get recycled.
* Bottled water has a huge carbon footprint both from the production of the bottles and from transporting them all over the country and world (water is very heavy).
Okay, now that your eyes are open (and you're thoroughly depressed), here's the good news -- drinking bottled water is a pretty easy habit to kick!
Kicking The Bottled Water Habit
These are the two most important steps to kicking the habit and "staying clean."
Step 1: Get a Good Filter
Although most tap water tastes okay, it's possible that you did something really bad in a past life and now you're paying for it in the form of sulfur water. But regardless of whether or not you're working off bad karma, if you're not happy with the quality of your tap water, the best solution is to invest in a good filter. Depending on what you're dealing with and how sensitive you are to taste, you can choose something as simple and cheap as a Brita filter or you can buy an undersink or whole house water filter.
I purchased a Kenmore under-sink model that was recommended by Consumer Reports about four years ago and have been very happy with it. It was reasonably priced, pretty easy to install (my husband put it in without any formal training in the plumbing arts), and gets rid of a lot of the bad stuff in our water while improving the taste.
If you're not sure where to start, click here for a great review of water filters (including coutertop, faucet-mounded, under-sink and whole house models) from the Green Guide - the data comes from Consumer Reports and the National Sanitation Foundation.
Step 2: Switch to a Stainless Steel Water Bottle
Around the same time I got the under-sink filter, I also bought two stainless steel Kleen Kanteen bottles (one for me and one for the husband.) My decision to ditch our Nalgenes came after I read the news stories about polycarbonate plastic bottles leaching bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that mimics the hormone estrogen and may be linked to increased cancer risks, infertility, autism, and developmental problems. There is still debate over how serious the risk is but I figure there's no need to keep drinking from a plastic bottle while the scientists hash it out with the plastics industry lobbyists, right?
When I started looking for a metal alternative to our beloved Nalgene bottles four years ago, it was not easy to find. But after a bunch of internet searching, I eventually found one online retailer who sold a product called Kleen Kanteen (at the time, an unknown brand.) But since then, the market for metal water bottles has exploded! I see the things pretty much EVERYWHERE I go though, granted, I do live in Berkeley...
Kleen Kanteens are solid, light-weight and virtually indestructible but, best of all, the stainless steel does NOT leach suspect chemicals into the water you're drinking, unlike your old Nalgene. They come in 12 oz, 18 oz, 27 oz, and 40 oz sizes with a variety of tops including a sippy cup like-one for green toddlers. The only downside I see to them is that they're made in China but, then again, so are many of the things we buy.
Although there are other brands of metal water bottles on the market now (the ones I see most often are made by a Swiss company called Sigg), I believe they are either made of aluminum and/or lined with some sort of plastic both of which seem to defeat the purpose of a non-toxic water bottle. So the simple, stainless steel Kleen Kanteen gets my vote.
Once you to get yourself set up with the bottles and filters, it should be much easier to stop buying bottled water. However, as with any habit, it will take increased awareness of your daily habits and a degree of self-discipline to change your ways. But I know you can do it!
Helpful Links
* The Center for a New American Dream's Carbon Conscious Consumer Campaign blog: http://c3.newdream.org/blog/cat/break-the-bottled-water-habit/
* How to Green Your Water Guide from TreeHugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/how_to_green_your_water.php
* The Green Guide's Review of Water Filters:
http://www.thegreenguide.com/reports/product.mhtml?id=23&sec=2
* The National Tap Water Database:
http://www.ewg.org/tapwater/findings.php
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