DIFFICULTY: Easy
Today's challenge is to bring a reusable water bottle to work or school instead of a plastic one everyday! Recycling those plastic bottles is always good too, but there isn't always a recycling bin around and sometimes we forget to recycle! If you're worried about using tap water, check out this site for lots of water facts. Sometimes people think bottled water is cleaner than tap water, but this isn't necessarily true. In fact, the reason why a lot of people think tap water is dirtier is because it tastes strange. (it is true, though, that in some areas the public water standards don't meet the standards they're supposed to, so it's always important to be careful!) The methods used to clean your water are what make it taste different from bottled water. If you don't like the taste, you can always buy a water purifier, which is good because you can keep it in your fridge to keep your water cold! Ultimately buying a purifier will waste less plastic and cost less money in the long run than always buying bottled water. Another thing about bottled water is that it isn't always safe. Harmful chemicals are just as likely to be found in bottled water as tap water. Sometimes, chemicals can seep out of the plastic and into the water! Of course, there are a lot of regulations that try to keep bottled water AND tap water standards high! The point is, both tap water and bottled water are usually safe, it's just that bottled water tends to cost more and is more harmful for the environment.
The Facts:
-Tap water costs approximately $0.002 per gallon. Bottled water ranges from approximately $0.89 to $8.29 per gallon.
-The production of plastic bottles requires more than 17 million barrels of oil in the United States.
-In the United States, 86% of empty plastic water bottles end up in the garbage instead of being recycled.
Today's challenge is to bring a reusable water bottle to work or school instead of a plastic one everyday! Recycling those plastic bottles is always good too, but there isn't always a recycling bin around and sometimes we forget to recycle! If you're worried about using tap water, check out this site for lots of water facts. Sometimes people think bottled water is cleaner than tap water, but this isn't necessarily true. In fact, the reason why a lot of people think tap water is dirtier is because it tastes strange. (it is true, though, that in some areas the public water standards don't meet the standards they're supposed to, so it's always important to be careful!) The methods used to clean your water are what make it taste different from bottled water. If you don't like the taste, you can always buy a water purifier, which is good because you can keep it in your fridge to keep your water cold! Ultimately buying a purifier will waste less plastic and cost less money in the long run than always buying bottled water. Another thing about bottled water is that it isn't always safe. Harmful chemicals are just as likely to be found in bottled water as tap water. Sometimes, chemicals can seep out of the plastic and into the water! Of course, there are a lot of regulations that try to keep bottled water AND tap water standards high! The point is, both tap water and bottled water are usually safe, it's just that bottled water tends to cost more and is more harmful for the environment.
The Facts:
-Tap water costs approximately $0.002 per gallon. Bottled water ranges from approximately $0.89 to $8.29 per gallon.
-The production of plastic bottles requires more than 17 million barrels of oil in the United States.
-In the United States, 86% of empty plastic water bottles end up in the garbage instead of being recycled.