The war on plastic waste is raging greater than it ever has and thank goodness because according to research by National Geographic, 91% of all plastic is not recycled. So if it’s not being recycled where the heck is it going?
Yep you’ve guessed it – dumped as and where people see fit, emptied from our rubbish bins into landfill where some plastics can take up to hundreds of years to properly break down and decompose, and worst of all it’s ending up in our oceans where it is causing all kinds of environmental havoc. From wrecking animal habitats, causing damage to birds, marine animals and fish, not to mention how much it’s affecting the animal food chain, it is also starting to creep into our own food chain, the implications of which are huge.
Did you know that in the UK alone a whopping 38.5 million plastic bottles are used every day and according to an article by the Guardian this will increase by 20% come the year 2021 working out as a staggering 20,000 bottles being bought every second. Which means unless we start doing something about it now, the world is going to be in a right old state in the not so distant future.
What Can We Do About It?
These days the majority of plastic bottles are made from a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (Pet), which is easily recycled. However, as consumption rises and unfortunately the number of people who recycle their bottles is nowhere near as high, it’s like fighting a losing battle. Aside from upping our recycling game there are other things we can do that will help, including some environmentally friendly alternatives to drinking bottled water in the first place.
For example, a growing number of cafés and restaurants are now offering their customers free refills if they present them with their own reusable water bottles. And that’s the thing isn’t it, we don’t actually need to buy bottles of water when we can fill up our own at home and take them around with us. It’s a question of forming good habits and not being so reliant on the quick and easy options all the time.
I understand that some people don’t like the taste of tap water, I’m personally OK with it but when I’ve stayed in other parts of the country I can definitely taste a difference and I haven’t liked it. However that’s not much of an excuse considering there are so many different types of decent water filter systems out there that can help solve this problem. If you’d like to find out more about this head on over to waterfilteranswers.com and discover the best water filters currently on the market and the options available to you.
Buying bottled water isn’t just bad for the environment but it’s also not doing your wallet any favours either. And even if you invest in a water filter and a couple of reusable flasks or drinks canisters, over time it’s going to work out way cheaper than the amount you’d spend on buying individual throw away bottles of water.
Really we’re left with no choice, and it’s not exactly a life changing decision to have to make. We’re fortunate enough that in the western world we have clean and safe drinking water quite literally on tap, so let’s stop this excessive over consumption of plastic and do our bit.
*collaborative post
