On average, every week we ingest the equivalent of a plastic credit card (i.e. 5 grams)! This is according to a study commissioned by WWF and conducted at the University of Newcastle in Australia, published on Tuesday 11 June 2019.
We have become accustomed to buying mineral water in plastic bottles. In particular, water in plastic bottles contains a lot of microplastic: some 94 to 325 pieces per litre. This is because bottled water is additionally contaminated with pieces of plastic from the bottle itself or from the cap.
PLASTIC & PETROLEUM
You know that plastic bottles are made from petroleum? So if we want to start using less petroleum, we can start with that first. After all, there are plenty of natural alternatives (including hemp) to make biodegradable plastic from. Why this is not happening? Political lobbying?
PLASTIC SOUP
Every year, 50,000,000,000 (50 billion) plastic water bottles are sold worldwide and 2/3rds of them are not recycled. As a result, we have microplastics everywhere in our environment and nature. However, these are too small for the human eye to see and therefore quickly ignored. The global plastic soup in the world's oceans and seas do provide a clear optical example of this. Which leads to an ecological disaster.
ENVIRONMENTALLY POLLUTING PRODUCTION
Besides the huge pollution caused by plastics, producing mineral water is also highly polluting. To make 1 litre of mineral water, the industry needs 3 litres of water. But what about all the transport needed to get 1 litre of water to your house? It is huge! The whole chain is very environmentally polluting, as well as a lot of wasted raw materials and energy.
SAVINGS
Besides saving petroleum, plastics, etc., the biggest personal saving is lugging around water bottles, but also a substantial financial saving!
EXAMPLE: on average, 1 litre of water costs €0.05 while mineral water costs on average €0.60 per litre.
Say: 2 litres per day per person
Mineral water: € 0.60 x 2 litres x 365 (days) = € 438 per person p/y
Water filter: € 0.05 x 2 litres x 365 (days) = € 36.50 per person p/y
Saving: € 400,- per person p/y!
What do you think? Isn't it better to filter your drinking water yourself? It's healthier, saves you a lot of schouw, is many times cheaper and saves the environment to boot!