My water bottle saves lives

Before learning that the generic, disposable water bottles were enhancing my chances of joining the cancer club, I often reused the same bottle over and over again. "My, how many water bottles I must be saving", "My, how many landfills I must be keeping clean". These are things I would say to myself to make myself feel good about... myself.

WELL! Guess what I found out! The plastic used in a typical water bottle is designed to be used only once. QUICKLY! Grab the closest plastic water bottle or drinking device! Now look for the recycling triangle underneath the bottle. Specifically, what number is inside the triangle and what letters are found under the recycling triangle? Familiarizing yourself with the Resin Identification Code could be well worth your time. Polyethylene terephthalate is represented with the number 1 and the letters "PETE". DO NOT USE THIS TYPE OF PLASTIC REPEATEDLY!! The more times you use this type of plastic, the more carcinogens you could contract from the plastic.

About six months ago I invested a whopping $8.50 at REI in Santa Ana, CA. This $8.50 plus tax (which I'm sure won't be spent wisely by our government) funded my new water consumption plan. The strict plan revolves around a brand new Nalgene polycarbonate water bottle. These bottles are marked with the number 7 and either the letters "OTHER" or "PC". Polycarbonate water bottles are non-leaching and safe to be used repeatedly. There is little concern over the effects of the Bisphenol A that is released during the plastics life.

Be sure to properly clean and care for your PC bottles. They are odorless as long as you rinse out and clean your bottle regularly.

Just look at how happy I am drinking delicious, purified water out of my PC water bottle!

What about glass and stainless steel? They're most likely more healthy to drink out of. Especially when you're talking about leaving your bottle out in the sun.
It's my understanding that PC bottles have a much smaller carbon footprint than glass or stainless due to the amount of energy it takes to produce them. It's important to look at the things we purchase and consume with a cradle to cradle mindset.

• How was the raw material harvested?
• How much and what type of energy was used to produce this object?
• How much of this item can be re-used once it's no longer of use?

Written by, Evan T. Little

Realtor®, EcoBroker®
Volkl Investments Inc.
949.939.9687 phone
evan@volklinvestmentsinc.com

My other blogs:
Orange County, CA Community
Real Estate in Orange County, CA