The Earth Policy Institute recently issued a report where they concluded that one 
and a half million barrels of oil are used to produce the plastic bottles for the 8 billion gallons of bottled water consumed each year in the United States. This equates to enough oil to power 100,000 vehicles a year.
That astounds me, especially when I despise paying $3.21 a gallon to fuel my vehicle with gas. I am a water bottle consumer, but at least I try to consume responsibly. I reuse old bottles for as long as I can. I don’t necessarily like the tap water in my area so I have a filter on the faucet in our kitchen and I keep a Brita pitcher in the fridge.
Reusing and then recycling plastic water bottles works for me. For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas and tips, please visit Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer.
18 Comments
April 24, 2007 at 9:42 PM
Wow…that’s just freaky! Careful with reusing those bottles! The plastic breaks down after awhile, and can be bad for ya.
April 24, 2007 at 9:50 PM
I reuse too!. How long do you use them?
April 24, 2007 at 9:52 PM
We use Brita pitchers as well. It’s earth friendly, and a lot less expensive!
April 24, 2007 at 9:59 PM
I think you are OK to reuse water bottles as long as you don’t put them in the dishwasher which breaks down the plastic.
We reuse too…although we only use them for car trips & DS has one in bed for when he gets thirsty. We love the Brita pitcher too!
Our deck is made of recycled soda bottles, and you can also buy clothing (particularly some types of fleece) that are made of recycled plastic bottles.
April 24, 2007 at 11:39 PM
I try to reuse these too.
April 25, 2007 at 5:30 AM
I do this too. My sister freaked out and said the plastic releases chemicals if you put them in the dishwasher or use them too long, but a newer study found that to be untrue.
I also like to use them for the kids to take to sports practices with them and if they forget them it’s no biggie.
April 25, 2007 at 6:47 AM
You’re so good! I’m too lazy to wash them….
April 25, 2007 at 6:51 AM
I reuse the bottles too, as long as possible. I just wash by hand. And I save the “sport tops” to put on regular bottles since they are much more kid-friendly.
April 25, 2007 at 8:44 AM
I reuse them too! We even write names on them so only the same person reuses them several times. Because as much as I love my children, really, they can keep their own watter bottles LOL!
I also have a few rubbermaid containers that are nice to use as well and easy to wash =)
April 25, 2007 at 1:34 PM
That is astounding. I reuse my bottles, but eventually the water starts to taste funny, even filtered. I buy a case of water a month at the most, sometimes making it every two months. That is good for me, as I typically drink at least three bottles of water a day. Thanks for sharing that eye-opening fact!
April 25, 2007 at 2:05 PM
Wow!! That is astounding. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I really need to conserve more.
I bought at big jug at the dollar store and I need to start filling that again.
April 25, 2007 at 8:07 PM
Thanks for not only giving us a tip but also speaking your mind about the waste. I agree–it’s disturbing. I can’t stand walking past the trash cans at the soccer fields–all those empty sports drinks, Gatorade bottles, water bottles…heaping mounds of them every single week. I’ve considered embarrassing my family by loading up a bunch in a big bag to recycle.
April 26, 2007 at 6:56 AM
I do this too, for the same reason. I’m amazed at people who don’t–it seems so very wasteful.
April 26, 2007 at 8:27 AM
I find that the diet coke bottles are a bit stronger and thicker than the old water bottles. I can wash them in the dishwasher without them getting melty or distorted. But my kids stole all the empties the other day to use with a water bottle rocket launcher thing. Now I have to search the house to find one decent empty–oh, there’s one right there! Happy me.
April 26, 2007 at 8:37 PM
I had no idea how much oil goes into plastic bottle manufacturing! I just learned the other day though that it takes 5 liters of water to make a 1 liter water bottle.
We reuse our bottles too. I figure, I better use them at least 6 times to truly make it worth it. But I think we’re going on a couple dozen times at least! Good tip and thanks for the education!
April 28, 2007 at 6:46 AM
We use reverse osmosis water, its .39 a gallon. I also use stainless steel bottles, you can find them at http://www.kleankanteen.com They’ve got all kinds of sizes, AND there’s no waste!
April 30, 2007 at 3:26 AM
Good news! If you are at all worried about the plastic chemical issue you might consider glass water bottles. We use old wide mouth salad dressing bottles that have plastic lids. Of course, this isn’t practical for little ones but it sure cuts down on the plastic at our house. Also, (and the main reason we switched) you can run them through the dishwasher to get them super clean. I am just popping around blogs this morning and discovered yours from Beehive Academy. I blog about homeschooling and write children’s book recommendations.
April 30, 2007 at 6:23 AM
I do this, too. I handwash them (and everything else, since we don’t have a dishwasher! sigh…) and refill them. I throw them all out every few months or so and buy new ones. Thanks for sharing!