Movies, Books, Politicians the Water Bottle is Under Siege
Carry a plastic water bottle at your own demise; the tide of public belief is turning against you. From top rating documentaries, to papers and political debate, the biggest debate in town is the menace of bottled water and the waste that the industry demonstrates.
The production, moving and waste of water in petrochemical plastic bottles requires huge amounts of water alongside energy, and creates tremendous measures of greenhouse gases and waste.
Director of the new documentary ‘Tapped: get off the bottle’ Stephanie Soechtig says “1500 water bottles end up in landfill every second – that’s 30 million water bottles a day! We wanted to show people just how much waste is generated by bottled water.” The crew of Tapped are pushing the movie with an across-America roadshow, collecting donations from donors to lower their water bottle use and exchanging their used plastic water bottle for a reusable stainless steel bottle. Download Tapped from Amazon or iTunes.
A short film ‘The Story of Bottled Water’ was released on World Water Day in March. By Annie Leonard of the well-received ‘The Story of Stuff’, this short film delves into the process that goes into conning Americans into consuming more than five hundred million bottles of water every week, despite the option of a few cents cost for a drink from the tap. Look up this animation on You Tube.
Through her book ‘Bottlemania’, investigator Elizabeth Royte investigates one of the biggest marketing coups of our century and provides a sudden environmental alarm. She explores the questions we must inevitably respond to. Who distributes the water supply? What happens when a bottled-water business holds your town’s water source? Is the water that comes from your tap completely safe? What is the environmental cost of production, transportation and disposing of one plastic water bottle?
Politicians from all around the world are acknowledging that they must take action – particularly when the institutions in which they serve are major consumers of bottled water. How often do we observe a politician in a government function sipping from a water bottle. Surely they should be able to find a water glass in Parliament House.
Leslie Samuelrich of Corporate Accountability International, stated “Cities and states are spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on bottled water, and that’s not to mention what’s spent to deal with all the plastic bottles that are thrown out.”
In July 2009, the NSW rural town of Bundanoon became the first society around Australia to stop the retailing of bottled water. About 60 townships in the US and a few towns in Canada and the United Kingdom have ceased spending taxpayer funds on bottled water.
It is doubtless that this issue will be on the agenda during World Water Week 2010 from September 5 to 11 in Stockholm, Sweden, the annual meeting for the world’s most urgent water-related events.
Article written by Tracey Bailey, founder of Biome Eco Stores.
Sphere: Related ContentWater Bottles Need to be Clean to be Safe: How to Clean Your Water Bottle
You are doing the right thing for the planet by filling up at home and carrying a reusable water bottle and you’ve chosen a safe, non-toxic bottle-but if it’s not kept clean then it may not be healthy.
Whether your drink bottle is a stainless steel bottle, SIGG bottle or a BPA free plastic water bottle, it is important to stop mould and other deposits forming in the bottle.
Wash your drink bottles with warm, soapy water at the end of every day and let the bottle air dry upside down with the top off every day where possible.
Should any mineral deposits or lime scale form inside, fill your clean water bottle with Distilled White Vinegar and let it soak for 24 hours. Then rinse with warm water mixed with one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), rinse out and let dry. Spots inside the bottle that look like “corrosion” are most likely a mineral deposit.
Fill your bottle with filtered water wherever possible. It tastes so much better, but also because water contains different minerals in every area this may affect what happens inside your bottle.
Do not allow liquids such as fruit juice to ferment inside the bottle.
With all reusable water bottles you can also try SIGG cleaning tablets and a specially-designed SIGG bottle cleaning brush, or simply a baby bottle brush. Only ever use a soft brush on aluminium bottles with lining like SIGG so as not to damage the lining. Stainless steel water bottles like Klean Kanteen and Nathan can handle a hard brush.
While all bottles are technically dishwasher-safe, it is recommended to not put them in a dishwasher. Most dishwasher powders are caustic, so they will eat into the metal of your bottle and damage the exterior pattern. Bottle tops should also not be put in the dishwasher because extreme heat expands and deteriorates the plastic.
Never freeze metal bottles as metal can split even with only a little water inside. Water does not always expand in a predictable direction! Freezing plastic water bottles is also not advisable because it may cause the plastic to breakdown and toxins to leach. It is fine to place your bottle in the refrigerator.
Tips on cleaning your water bottle brought to you by Biome Eco Stores Australia.
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