By Robert Grigg
Plastic water bottles are a fairly popular product, especially in the Americas. It’s understandable why, too: they’re portable, already filled, cold, and often filtered. The convenience they provide is great, however, the environment isn’t so fond of them. These commodities produce a huge amount of waste, with America alone using 50 billion of them yearly. On top of this, the recycle rate is only at 23%, meaning that less than a quarter of these are recycled and repurposed.
Of course, you may be a very dedicated recycler and make sure that these bottles end up in the proper facilities, but even then their production still isn’t eco-friendly. America’s consumption of bottled water requires more than 17 million barrels of oil to produce annually, and on top of this, these bottles are much more expensive for the consumer than if they were to just use a reusable bottle and filter. The cheaper plastics in the disposable bottles aren’t meant to be reused without proper treatment either, meaning that their degradation may pose health risks to consumers over longer periods of time.
While Vixster prides ourselves on providing a great pickup service for your trash and recyclables, we still promote more sustainable practices in everyday life. For more information on bottled water, feel free to visit https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/ or look up other sources at your leisure.