Bottled Water: Good for You, Bad for the Environment?
January 4, 2008 by Kristen King
Filed under Women's Health
Bottled water is a convenient way to stay hydrated on the go, and to get something refreshing to drink when tap water in your area is unacceptable for one reason or another. But bottled water has been getting a lot of flack lately because of the waste it creates in the form of empty bottles. If you choose to drink bottled water — and let’s face it, we all do from time to time — reduce the impact of the bottle by recycling it or reusing it when you’re done.
When reusing a water bottle, whether it’s a now-empty bottle you purchased or a reusable bottle like the ones made by Nalgene, be sure to sterilize it before refilling it, and don’t let a bottle sit for days after you’ve already started drinking it. Bacteria can build up in used bottles and potentially make you sick if you don’t keep them clean.
I reuse my bottles by running them through the dishwasher in the top rack (I put the tops in the silverware holder) when I do a regular load of dishes.
How are you reducing your environmental footprint while staying healthy? Scott at Health and Men has some ideas…
Related LW posts:
Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen KingTags: womens health, woman, health, bottled water, recycling, men and health, plastic bottles, environment, environmentally conscious
Wherever I go, I like to carry filtered water from home in stainless-steel water bottles from Klean Kanteen.
Thanks for the link, Katharine!
kk
Thanks for the link, Kristen. I’ll return the favor soon.
bottled water is not good for you and u never want to reuse the bottles
bottled water is not good for you who ever said that is wrong always use tap water or use as much as possible becsuse of the chemicals use in the plastic it makes it for the enviroment and your self
Not that anybody gives a *****, but I’m a state licensed Class IIIa surface water treatment operator. And while I do produce contaminate free, low turbidity, perfectly potable (and well exceeding state and federal standards) water every day. Unfortunately, I have to pump my beautiful product into a 80+ year old distribution system full of lead pipes and corrosion. It’s a goddam pity to have my million dollar acti-flo plant hooked up to that crap.
Always, know the state of your local municipal water distribution system, kids. America has the best water treatment plants and best trained operators in the world, but our public distribution systems are in the pits and it would cost trillions to replace them.
And that said: bottled water is a big effin’ scam.
Thanks for the comments, none, none, and bottled water is a scam (yes, I can see that you’re all the same person, dear ;]). You raise a GREAT point. I’m glad you stopped by.