Previous item The Benefits of Drinking... Next item What Would Happen If We...

Never Drink from Plastic Water Bottles Again

Jennifer Kanaan March 27, 2018 Food & Health

If you have a plastic water bottle nearby, take a close look at it. Do you spot an expiry date? You’re probably thinking: wait, water doesn’t expire or go bad, so what’s this date for? The answer is the bottle itself. After a certain while, the plastic starts blending into the water, giving away its chemicals to it. This not only changes the taste and smell of the water, but also its quality, making our precious water toxic.

What chemicals are leaching into our water?

A recent study conducted on 11 major water brands from 9 countries, including Lebanon, found that there’s an average of 10 microplastic particles the width of a human hair in 90% of the 250 bottles tested! We already know Bisphenol A (or BPA) is a major component of all plastic, but what other elements are in there?

These are the contaminating particles that the study found at a concentration of up to 10,000 particles per liter.

What do these particles do to your body?

Even if water companies are claiming to use BPA-free plastic, the danger isn’t gone. Plastic particles in your water can have seriously harmful effects on you, and it’s not just when you’ve left it in your car for a while. They’re increasing the risk of:

Certain types cancer
Neurological conditions
Reduced fertility
Early puberty in girls
Birth defects in newborns
Premature labor
Heart disease

And if that weren’t enough, plastic pollution is one of the biggest manmade health hazards infecting our environment, affecting humans, animals, and oceans alike.

What is plastic doing to the environment?

A mountain of this non-degradable material is invading Mother Nature, yet we still overproduce and overuse it, creating more plastic waste than we can handle. 8 million tons of plastic are piling up on our shores and in our oceans every year, trapping sea creatures, getting into their digestive system, and killing them by the millions.

What can we do about it?

Grabbing a plastic bottle water to quench your thirst is quick, convenient, and inexpensive, but it’s time we stopped it. Weighing the negatives to the (very few) positives, it’s obvious that we have to do something to save our bodies as well as our Earth.

Filter Your Tap Water

When you read about the dangers of plastic, the obvious alternative is tap water, but with the many contaminants found in it, it’s just as harmful. This is why it’s essential to install a water filtration system in your house.

Use Glass Water Bottles

Glass water bottles offer the same convenience of plastic bottles – minus the contamination. They’re also inexpensive and, being easily cleaned, can be used indefinitely.

Use Stainless Steel Water Bottles

Similarly to glass, they are easy to carry around and to clean, plus they’re not breakable, so they may be the best choice for kids as well. In addition, they can preserve the beverage’s temperature.

Spread The Word

Getting rid of plastic water bottles for a cleaner world is going to be a collective effort, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to share the hazards of plastic bottles.