In this blog post, we discuss the environmental benefits of giving up single-use water bottles. Or from another point of view; benefits of switching to reusable water bottles from an environmental point of view.
Sustainable development has grown in popularity in a trend-like fashion and has risen to consumers' awareness as well as one of the main purchase criteria guiding the purchasing decisions of enlightened consumers during the last decades. One of the key areas of sustainable development has been reducing the consumption of single-use products, and especially single-use plastic products. In addition to reducing the burden on the environment, this has been aimed at, among other things, protecting the seas from plastic waste.
One aspect of minimizing the use of single-use plastic products is giving up single-use plastic bottles. Especially in countries that do not have a bottle collection system like Finland, the use of single-use plastic water bottles is a real burden on the environment. The sale of single-use water bottles continues to grow in Finland, even though everyone gets drinkable water from the tap at home and at work; in 2022, member companies of the brewing and soft drink industry sold almost 112 million liters of bottled water in Finland (source 1).
The problem of single-use plastic bottles
The production of a single-use plastic bottle, such as a soda or water bottle, requires fossil fuels, such as crude oil, as raw materials. Furthermore, a large part of globally manufactured single-use plastic products, such as plastic water bottles, end up in landfills as land fill. About 0.5% of plastic waste eventually ends up in the sea (source 2). In addition, it takes hundreds of years for plastic to compost, releasing harmful chemicals into the environment at the same time. At the same time, the manufacturing of the products and their transportation tend to increase the negative environmental effects of their use.
Reusable Water Bottles
Most reusable water bottles are made of plastic, stainless steel or glass. The production of reusable water bottles can, on a case-by-case basis, require more energy and raw materials than the production of a single-use drinking bottle. Despite this, their use is a better option from an environmental point of view, as long as the use of the product genuinely replaces the consumption of single-use bottles and the product is used until the end of its life cycle and is properly recycled at the end of use. Stainless steel, for example, can be used for reuse when it is recycled properly.
In the United States, a single consumer uses an estimated 156 disposable drinking bottles per year (source 3). This way, for example, a stainless steel water bottle in active use for three years would save up to almost 500 single-use plastic bottles.
Financial and health benefits
Although the benefits of reusable water bottles are often measured in terms of the environment, they also contain numerous financial and health benefits. Investing in a durable and long-lasting reusable water bottle actually pays for itself very quickly in a situation where disposable drinking bottles have been bought on a regular basis in the past.
Disposable plastic bottles are almost always made of plastic. The issue of microplastics entering the human body through food contact materials has been increasingly discussed in the media in recent years, and their effects are still poorly known (see sources 4 and 5). Microplastics have been detected in human blood for the first time in recent years, and a large proportion of these are estimated to end up in the body specifically through food contact materials, such as plastic drinking bottles (source 5). Therefore, switching to a water bottle made of glass or stainless steel is also an act for your own long-term health and well-being!
A change in mindset
In addition to the environmental, financial and health benefits mentioned above, reusable drinking bottles can also have a surprising benefit in terms of the consumer's way of thinking. In addition to the fact that the drinking bottle reminds you to drink water, it also reminds you to make sustainable and ecological choices in everyday life; for example, to think twice about making the consumption decision at hand, the lifespan of the product to be purchased, the recycling of waste, and so on. The reusable drinking bottle reminds us of an environmentally sustainable way of living and reflects it on other aspects of life as well.
Summary
It can be said that purchasing and using a plastic-free or low-plastic reusable water bottle is a sensible choice in terms of both the environment, personal finances and also health. It reduces the burden on the environment by reducing the consumption of single-use drinking bottles, and is thus capable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the consumption habits of individual consumers and the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the sea and soil.
As consumers, our choices matter, and when small changes in consumption habits are repeated, the decisions of an individual consumer greatly affect the whole over the years. In addition, individual small actions, such as getting a reusable drinking bottle, encourage a sustainable development mindset and reflect the same thinking on other aspects of life.
You can find a wide selection of high-quality, plastic-free and BPA-free water bottles made of stainless steel and glass here.
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