The dirty facts on plastics

Plastic Bags

* Shoppers worldwide are using 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags per year. This translates to about a million bags every minute across the globe, or 150 bags a year for every person on earth. And the number is rising.

* Plastic bags are made of polyethylene - more commonly known as polythene - they are hazardous to manufacture and are said to take up to 1,000 years to decompose.

* Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags.

The energy needed to manufacture and transport disposable bags eats up more resources and creates global warming emissions.

The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that increase our dependency on foreign suppliers. Additionally, prospecting and drilling for these resources contributes to the destruction of fragile habitats and ecosystems around the world.


Plastic Beverage Bottles

* In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 38 bottles per person, which equals about 50 billion plastic bottles consumed, with only 23% being recycled. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills, each year.

* Manufacturing bottled water uses over 1.5 million barrels of oil per year. In one year, thats enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.
* When plastic bottles end up in landfills they take 700 years before they start to decompose.

A river in China, choking on plastic Manufacturing, Consuming, and Discarding Plastics

* About 250 billion pounds of raw plastic pellets are produced annually worldwide and turned into a variety of products, from cars and computers to packaging and pens.

* Every year the U.S. makes enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.

* Nearly every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today.

* Americans generate 10.5 million tons of plastic waste a year but recycle only 1 or 2 % of it.

* Only 2.5% of plastic bottles are presently recycled in Europe.

* The toxic chemical ingredients needed to make plastic produces pollution during the manufacturing process.

* During rainfall, discarded plastic litter is washed down stormdrains which lead directly to our rivers and oceans.

Source: http://www.leonardodicaprio.org/pledge/dirtyfacts.html

 

Going green may mean giving up plastic water bottles for some. Some people think it is acceptable to buy aluminum instead. In fact SIGG aluminum water bottles (at Wegmanns in the health foods section now) are all the rage I hear from friends. Our family will choose to avoid them!

For our family ALUMINUM is an extreme no-no. We have strands of Altzheimers and Addison's disease in our family. These diseases are somewhat correlated with the build up of aluminum in the body, as well as other problems as well.

One way to prevent this terrible disease is to avoid Aluminum as often as possible. This includes pots/pans and Coffeemate, which is made with Aluminum.

Regardless, I would LOVE to buy an eco-friendly stainless steel water bottle. Read what this website says about Aluminum (You don't have to worry about plastic leaching or aluminum* when you drink from a stainless steel water bottle. You can really taste the difference too! *Aluminum although light weight has to be lined with something to make sure the contents are safe for drinking. Usually it is lined with baked on epoxy (toxic) or ceramic (can crack) (by http://www.triballife.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=30_92 retrieved 5/13/08)


How about these Stainless Steel choices instead :

http://www.kleankanteen.com/2products/products.html

http://www.sunrisewd.com/products/new_wavesteel.html

http://www.sunrisewd.com/products/stainless-steelbottle.hmtl

http://www.triballife.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30_92&products_id=568

 

I've heard stainless is better, too. Just don't use the same stainless steel water bottle for your water as you do for your coffee. The coffee taste carries over!

 

We no longer use plastic bottles...and have gotten used to carrying the stainless steel bottles around. I find I drink more water because the opening is larger than a regular water bottle, so I end up dumping way more water down my throat when I drink!

Only thing that's a pain is forgetting them in a store...

 

Silence

Where did you get your stainless steel bottles? Do they have #5 on the top? How much?

 

I always use my Nalgene water bottles and refill those.

 

I have an Oxo travel mug that I use for coffee. I can't find a #5 on it but it is stainless steel. What does the #5 indicate?

P.S. - I think I bought it at HomeGoods for about $9.

 

If you look at the websites I posted, which feature what appears to be all stainless water bottles, those same sites also sell stainless with plastic sippers or tops. They say those plastic parts are #5 plastic, plastic without dangerous chemicals.

I am looking for water bottles with NO PLASTIC.

I will check out OXO and Nalgene.

 

NO plastic? You hippie.