Alyna Sigel
As the holiday season approaches, many are considering which new water bottle they plan to add to their collection. This tends to stem from positive intentions, with increased awareness regarding the health and environmental consequences of single-use plastics. Research shows that the water in 93% of single-use plastic bottles contains microplastics. These microplastics have been linked to multiple human health concerns, including DNA damage, organ dysfunction, neurotoxicity, and reproductive issues.
Furthermore, many consider the array of environmental consequences of single-use plastics. Climate change persists as a forefront global concern and is heavily impacted by plastic production. Fossil fuel-based plastic polymers, which comprise about 80% of plastic production, accounted for 5.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. Another concern is plastic pollution. Between 19 and 23 million tonnes of plastic waste enter aquatic ecosystems annually and cause detrimental effects. Ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change is reduced, and plastic can harm and kill marine life.
This drives many to attempt to limit their contribution to plastics, and cutting out single-use water bottles is viewed as an easy first step. Reusable water bottles do have a direct impact through changes in individual consumption. For example, one person switching to a reusable bottle can prevent 120 plastic bottles from entering landfills and waterways each year. From a production perspective, a reusable water bottle is equivalent to 50 single-use bottles in energy consumption and 2,580 balloons of carbon dioxide annually.
As of this year, research shows that about 60% of Americans own a reusable water bottle. However, it has also been estimated that Americans own, on average, 7.24 reusable bottles. Though the original intent behind transitioning to reusable water bottles is often centered around benefiting the environment, companies have used this to their advantage, leading to reusable water bottles becoming trendy commodities. These trends focus on imposing blame on consumers and allow companies to use this guilt to advertise their brand.
This results in a significant loss of the original intent and encourages reusable water bottle purchases to be driven by keeping up with the latest hot new trend. Unfortunately, trends change rapidly and lead to an unnecessary accumulation of reusable water bottles. From S’well to Yeti to Hydro Flask, and now the extremely popular Stanley, consumers continue to buy whichever brand is considered trendy to keep up with societal influences, which are heavily guided by social media platforms such as TikTok.
Though reusable water bottles are undoubtedly the more sustainable option when compared to single-use, overconsumption notably reduces this benefit. The production of reusable water bottles requires a multitude of raw materials and results in pollution from both manufacturing and transportation. A single reusable water bottle is far more sustainable than relying on single-use options, but is 7?
Before you request or purchase a new water bottle this holiday season, reflect on whether or not your current collection is enough. Maybe you don’t have the hot new brand or the specific color you wish you did, but if you have a reusable water bottle that continues to serve its purpose, you may want to reconsider the purchase of another. Water bottles are not Pokémon; There is no need to collect ‘em all.
Citations
Chow, D. (2024, February 10). The thirst for Stanley cups raises questions on how green stainless steel water bottles really are. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/thirst-stanley-cups-raises-questions-green-stainless-steel-water-bottl-rcna136166
Karali, N., Khanna, N., & Shah, N. (2024, April). Climate Impact of Primary Plastic Production | Energy Analysis & Environmental Impact Division. Energyanalysis.lbl.gov. https://energyanalysis.lbl.gov/publications/climate-impact-primary-plastic
Li, Y., Tao, L., Wang, Q., Wang, F., Li, G., & Song, M. (2023). Potential Health Impact of Microplastics: A Review of Environmental Distribution, Human Exposure, and Toxic Effects. Environment & Health, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.3c00052
Pied, T. (2020, July 29). Bottled Water: The Human Health Consequences of Drinking from Plastic. Clean Water Action. https://cleanwater.org/2020/07/29/bottled-water-human-health-consequences-drinking-plastic
Rector, R. (2024, June 6). Rehydrate Responsibly. Thecapecurrent.com. https://thecapecurrent.com/column/rehydrate-responsibly/
Ruiz, A. (2022, November 5). 15 Fascinating Reusable Water Bottle Statistics & Analysis 2022. Theroundup.org. https://theroundup.org/reusable-water-bottle-statistics/
UN Environment Programme. (2024). Plastic Pollution. UNEP - UN Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/plastic-pollution