Plastic Bottles – How They Are Devastating The Environment
Waste
In the US consumers throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Studies suggest that between 7% and 8% of fossil fuels consumed around the world are used to manufacture new plastics.
Far too few of these plastic products are recycled and it is believed that as little as 10% of all plastic bottles used are actually recycled. This means they either end up in a landfill or as additions to the millions of tonnes of jetsam that bob about the world’s oceans, gradually being ground back into nurdles that inevitably poison seabirds, fish and mammals. Some of this debris is washed up amongst the flotsam and jetsam on various islands across the world such as Midway Atoll but the majority is pounded to a toxic pulp long before it gets the chance to be washed up anywhere.
Thinking out of the ‘bottle’
Environmentalists have long argued for more plastic bottles to be recycled but the latest simple thinking is that if we don’t use plastic bottles the laws of supply and demand will mean that none will be produced. By purchasing our water in plastic bottles we add to the problem. We are the problem.
It’s not as if we don’t have alternatives. In the UK, as with much of the western world, we have perfectly good, clean, potable water in our taps. There is no need whatsoever to duplicate the supply of water to our homes and offices by purchasing bottled water. Even if the delivery were to be in glass bottles, the despatch will require a truck, propelled using fossil fuel, to drive across a crowded town or city to your door.
Another way
By consuming mains water through a plumbed in water cooler or a plumbed-in water boiler we eliminate the need for the plastic bottle to be created in the first place. In turn, this eliminates the plastic waste, reduces fossil fuel use in both the manufacturing process and its transportation and helps the world’s oceans to recover and prevent needless animal deaths. Companies such as Glug Glug Glug specialise in converting bottle users to mains fed watercoolers for free, and can even make small monthly cost savings too. Search out Glug Glug Glug for some no obligation advice, for the sake of the planet.
If you want to convert to a more environmentally friendly method of drinking water, why not think about bottleless water coolers? They cut out the need for any plastic bottles and also help you save the environment. Give us a call today on 01934 520944.