Say no to disposable plastic water bottles

Did you know it takes about 15 times as much water to make one plastic bottle of water than to fill it? What a waste! But add to that, the recycle rate of plastic water bottles is about 15 percent. That leaves over 60 million being discarded in landfills, streets, waterways, lawns, the national parks, everywhere and anywhere every single day in the U.S. They will break down, eventually, in 1,000 years or so. No problem?

It also takes about a quarter bottle of oil — petroleum, that is — to make each bottle of plastic. In testing by the National Resources Defense Council, contaminants were found in about one-third of the water bottles including anything from arsenic to synthetic organic chemicals and bacteria. We had one bottle that lived in our composter about two years, and it was still intact!

Just say no to bottled water. I have used refillable plastic and aluminum water bottles for over five years now with almost no problems, except occasionally leaving one somewhere. A local drugstore has aluminum ones for $4, another low-cost store has hard plastic reusable water bottles for only $1.

Last, but not least, estimates are that one bottle of water can cost as much as 1,000 gallons of tap water here in Elgin. And many feel that water will be a deciding factor for life on this planet before climate change hits us!

Sandy Kaptain

Elgin