It’s rare anymore to go out in public without seeing someone using a plastic water bottle. Americans purchase and consume around 50 billion disposable plastic water bottles every year. Roughly 86% of these bottles end up in landfills instead of being recycled as they should be.
Are disposable water bottles bad for the environment? You bet they are. So why do people continue using them, knowing the negative impact water bottles have on the environment and our planet? Mainly due to convenience and not considering the negative impact it leaves on our planet’s health.
With over 8 billion people now living on Earth, we must do our part. Let’s talk about why disposable plastic water bottles are so bad for the health of our people, animals, and the Earth itself.
Fossil Fuels Are Used From Start to Finish When Producing Plastic Water Bottles
Every year, approximately 17 million barrels of oil are required to produce enough water bottles to meet the demand of the United States. This isn’t even considering how many more are required to meet worldwide supply needs. This waste of resources and the main contributing factor to pollution could easily be reduced by using refillable water bottles instead of one-time-use plastic bottles.
We Don’t Recycle Nearly Enough Plastic Disposable Water Bottles
Again, approximately 86% of plastic disposable water bottles are recycled. The majority of people who use them simply don’t make the effort to toss them in the recycling bin instead of just throwing them away in the garbage. This is filling landfills with 38 million bottles or more every year. When plastic disposable water bottles are easily recyclable, it makes no sense to take the lazy way out and toss them out with our other garbage.
The Production of Plastic Disposable Water Bottles Creates Tons of Pollution
During the manufacturing process of plastic disposable water bottles, over 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Pollution is rampant in larger cities and areas where the manufacturing of plastics is happening. If enough people decided to effect change by using reusable water bottles instead of disposable plastic ones, we’d be able to reduce air pollution significantly.
We Only Have One Planet and One Life
With our worldwide population now exceeding over eight billion people and rising daily, we need to be smarter about recycling and using other methods for our water consumption. We should prioritize having a refillable water bottle instead of using numerous bottles daily. If you must use disposable plastic water bottles, please be mindful to recycle them. Our planet’s health, and that of our citizens, is vitally important.