Movies, Books, Politicians the Water Bottle is Under Siege
Bring a plastic water bottle to your own demise; the sway of widespread view is coming back down against you. From big rating documentaries, to the written word and political campaigns, the hottest issue around is the terror around bottled water and the waste the industry demonstrates.
The producing, transportation and disposal of water in petrochemical plastic bottles requires huge waste of water alongside energy, and generates ridiculous amounts of greenhouse gases and waste.
Director of the upcoming documentary ‘Tapped: get off the bottle’ Stephanie Soechtig states “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 Tapped team are pushing the movie with their across-America roadshow, receiving donations from donors to take down their water bottle waste and taking their used plastic water bottle in exchange for a reusable stainless steel bottle. Download Tapped from Amazon or iTunes.
A similar 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 film displays the strategy that goes into swaying Americans into purchasing at least half a billion bottles of water every week, compared with a few cents cost for a drink from the tap. See this new animation on You Tube.
In her book ‘Bottlemania’, writer Elizabeth Royte demonstrates one of the greatest marketing coups of this century and provides a super environmental alarm bell. She investigates the problems we must at some point respond to. Who appropriates the water? What can happen when a bottled-water business seizes your town’s source? Is the water that comes from your tap completely safe? What is the environmental cost of producing, transportation and waste of every plastic water bottle?
Politicians all around the world are realising that they must start the campaign – notably when the institutions at which they work are major consumers of bottled water. How often do we view a politician at a government function drinking from a water bottle. 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 place in Australia to stop the retail of bottled water. Around 60 places in the US and a handful of towns in Canada and the United Kingdom have at this point prohibited spending taxpayer holdings on bottled water.
No doubt these problems will be tabled in World Water Week 2010 from September 5 to 11 in Stockholm, Sweden, the annual meeting for the world’s most urgent water-related issues.
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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