The Truth About Plastic And Bottled Water...Stop Clogging Your Body...
“The Truth About Plastic And Bottled Water”
Stop clogging your body…
Bottled water…When you think about, it really doesn’t seem like a sustainable source of drinking water…
with all of the manufacturing cost and pollution, actually filling the bottles (with mostly tap water anyway), and all of the bottles that end up in the landfill every single day…
but did you know that plastic and bottled water could be detrimental to your health and wellbeing?…You will now…Lets uncover the truth about plastic and bottled water…
Here we go…
First lets list the reasons why this source of water is not sustainable and bad for you, and the environment, and then we will unpack each reason.
In no specific order, here are some of the reasons:
1: The amount of wasted water for production:
2: The financial cost to consumers:
3: The cost to the environment:
4: The amount of wasted resources used and pollution created in production:
5: There are no proven positive benefits from bottled water consumption, and most bottled water is sourced from tap water.
6: Bottled water standards and regulations are vague and don’t keep you safe:
8: Plastic leaches chemicals into its contents:
We will discuss the alternatives to bottled water, what you can do at home that is sustainable, and alternatives to plastic food containers.
Lets start with the amount wasted in the production of bottled water:
According to freshwater watch, it take three times as much water to make a plastic water bottle, than the amount of water that water bottle will hold.
Wow that was a tongue twister…:)
Does any part of that statement make any sense to you either?
So to produce a 20oz bottle of water…company's are wasting 60oz of water?!?…
Nothing about that process is sustainable. What a waste…what a bummer.
How much money are you wasting on bottled water?…(Warning: you will probably get pissed off when you read how much :)
According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation consumers spend $16 billion dollars a year on bottled water?!?!?!?!?!?!?………Yep! I had to double check that number as well.
$16 billion dollars to purchase a product that is not healthy for you, that waste resources to produce, and fills our landfills everyday with pollution…gross.
The cost to the environment:
According to Digester, The process of bottling water releases 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
Each year, 38 billion water bottles end up in U.S. landfills. And plastic waste washes into the ocean and kills 1.1 million marine creatures each year.
Other studies also show 80% of all water bottles purchased , or 2 million tons of water bottles are overflowing U.S landfills. Out of sight…out of mind dosen't work any more.
It takes up to 1,000 years for every single bottle of water to decompose, and each bottle leaks harmful chemicals into our environment as it decomposes.
1,000 years of pollution for every plastic water bottle…wake up everyone!!!!
The amount of wasted resources and the pollution created during production:
According to a study done by Harvard university,
The entire life cycle of bottled water uses fossil fuels, contributes to global warming, and causes pollution.
More than 17 million barrels of oil are required to produce enough plastic water bottles to meet America’s annual demand for bottled water.
America’s unnecessary addiction to bottled water is pumping out 20 million metric tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year- equivalent to the monthly output of CO2 from powering 20 million homes annually.
Wow…what a waste of resources and added pollution for something that is so unnecessary.
There are no proven benefits from bottled water consumption:
During my research for this blog post I watched a lot of interviews with consumers.
When asked why they preferred bottled water over tap water they replied they felt safer drinking from the bottle. I would say the marketing done by the bottled water manufacturing has worked.
80% of the cost of bottled water is spent on marketing, while it only cost $0.03 Cents to make a bottle of water. Thats a pretty epic number.
That is also a lot of profit when considering your paying $2-$3 for a bottle of water.
(According to Diffen) While bottled water has a “healthy”, “pure” image, it is less regulated than tap water and significantly more expensive.
Most bottled water company’s utilize tap water as a source. Trigger words to let you know you are being mislead are “purified”, “filtered”, “pure””fresh”, “smart” “alkalized”.
Remember, as with food as well, if someone has to tell you something is all natural, or good for you, in most cases it is not.
Click the link below to see where most bottled water manufacturers are sourcing their water.
Where company's source their water:
Bottled water standards are vague and don’t keep you safe:
“Under the standard of identity (165.110{a}), FDA describes bottled water as water that is intended for human consumption with no added ingredients except that it may contain safe and suitable antimicrobial agents”. (Fluoride may also be added within limits set by FDA)
This is the same FDA that says it ok to eat super genetically engineered wheat and grains, smoke cigarettes, and drink yourself into oblivion. And fyi fluoride is horrible for you, that will be another blog post.
So to my understanding, if I wanted to start a “bottled water” manufacturing company from a well I purchased right next to a landfill I could.
Only as long as I didn’t add any ingredients to the water, and it contained “safe and suitable antimicrobial agents”?!?!?!?!?!?! What a joke.
Let this be another lesson and reason that the FDA does not give a shit about you, and cannot be trusted…period.
Plastic leaches chemicals into its content:
I recall one day when I was working in Massachusetts as a lineman.
It was the middle of winter and I had my lunches on the dash warming up to eat later.
About 30 minutes after placing them there I opened the door to the crummie (work truck) and it reeked of burning plastic.
This was first eye opening experience to how nasty and unhealthy plastic can be.
Needless to say I tried one bite of each lunch and they all tasted of plastic.
I went hungry that day but I learned a valuable life long lesson.
That night I went and purchased all glass lunch containers and recycled every piece of plastic I had been using.
Here is what I found in my research about plastic leaching icky unsafe chemicals into your food and water:
A main chemical released is bisphenol A (BPA). (According to breastcancer.org),
BPA is a weak synthetic estrogen found in many rigid plastic products, food and formula can linings, dental sealants, and on the shiny side of receipts (to stabilize the ink). Its estrogen like activity makes it a hormone disrupter, like many other chemicals in plastics.
Hormone disruptors can effect how estrogen and other hormones act in the body, blocking them or mimicking them, which throws off the body hormonal balance.
Ways to avoid the icky of plastic food containers and bottled water:
Filter your own water at home: Here is a link to the reverse osmosis system that I use. It is awesome, and after it cleans the water it re-mineralizes it with good minerals your body needs.
Fill and carry your own glass, stainless, or ceramic water bottle: And fill these containers with your filtered water from home.
I have 8 40oz containers that I take to work with me every day, and that I fill every night. It literally takes me about ten minutes of prep time to have clean water for the day. You can’t say you don’t have time. :)
Don’t cook food in plastic containers or use roasting/steaming bags: This seems to be pretty logical, but by cooking in plastic you are raising the temperature of the plastic and releasing BPA and other toxic chemicals into your food or drink.
Basically, when you are ready, and you will be the more healthy decisions you compile on your journey.
Stop drinking bottled water.
Stop using plastic in cooking and in the storage of foods and drinks.
Filter your own water so you can trust it and know that it is Awesome and healthy for you.
Use sustainable water containers (glass, stainless steel, etc) to transport, consume, and store your water, food, and other drinks (tea, coffee, etc)
It may seem like a lot but trust me it is not. Since I taken plastic out of my life I feel 100% better in so many ways!
My body now detoxes and takes care of itself because I am not flooding it with icky plastic bullshit all day long everyday.
My body literally started unclogging its self, starting from the cellular level out, from all of the bullshit years of drinking bottled water.
Thank you Loving universe…:)
Love yourself…
Love each other…
Love the planet…
Here’s to your health…
Cheers!
