O Green World

OK now, bottled water is just silly. It’s extremely wasteful and totally pointless. Unless your neighborhood is the subject of an environmental disaster, I’m sure your tap water is totally fine. And you know what? It probably tastes good too.

I myself find that the best tasting water comes out of my bathroom sink. Bottled water can have a funny taste sometimes, and if it sits in the bottle too long it can taste downright gross. It’s not good to keep water in those plastic bottles because you can end up with bad stuff in your “clean” spring water.

Worst of all, bottled water is extremely wasteful. I know people buy a lot of bottled waters which means a lot of plastic bottles. Think about that for a second. A lot of plastic bottles. Tons of plastic bottles. Thousands of tons of plastic bottles. Now, some of those bottles make it into recycling which is okay. However, as awesome as recycling is, it’s not a perfect system and. unfortunately, most plastic bottles don’t get recycled and are thrown out instead which is incredibly lame.

Besides the fact that bottled water leads to an incredible of garbage waste, it also means a huge amount of energy waste. The energy and resources it takes create bottled water is enormous. You have to mine petroleum, process it into plastic, make into a bottle, pump the water, bottle the water, and then ship it off to the supermarket. So much time and energy for a beverage you will enjoy for a few minutes. Insanity.

The alternative? DRINK FROM THE TAP. Going out of the house? BOTTLE YOUR OWN WATER. The only benefit that bottled water has over tap water is the element of convenience. When you go to the grocery store, it is convenient that that bottle of water is there. You’re thirsty? Well hey, there’s some water. You’ll spend your money on that frivolous bottle of water because it’s no big deal. Well it’s a real big deal.

In our society our lives revolve around convenience. We have been bred to seek what is easiest and most convenient. However, there is one element that checkmates a need for convenience: the element of planning. When you’re getting ready to leave your home just think, “Will I be thirsty later?” If you find yourself thinking “yes” or “maybe”, bring some water with you!

There are a lot of options out there with tons of different bottles, canteens, flasks, and sippy cups to choose from. If you feel like being a super-awesome recycler/re-user, I suggest repurposing a used glass container. Jars with twist-off lids (like pasta sauce jars) make great bottles. Also, smaller wine jugs are exceptionally chic. There are a whole ton of glass beverage conveyance containers to choose from! Glass is the best way to go if you’re picky about taste.

Now, if you’re the clumsy type and aren’t comfortable with carrying around a potentially sharp and fragmented pile of ouch with you, then I suggest going with a metal drinking bottle. Bottles made out of aluminum and stainless steel are exceptionally resilient and resistant to damage. Also, they fair the best when it comes to keeping your water cool. My mom got me one for Christmas.

Again, even though there are many different types of plastic bottles out there (such as Nalgenes), I don’t endorse plastic because of health concerns, environmental issues, and good taste.

So there you go! Take responsibility for yourself and the earth by bottling your own water. Drink from the tap because bottled water is crap.

For more information on bottled water, check out what the Story of Stuff has to say.