Ban the Bottles!

Recycled Plastic

The big culprit in plastic is bottled water, a category that barely existed 30 years ago. Average consumption in 1976 was only 1.6 gallons annually; by 2006, it was 28.3 gallons. Some 29.8 billion plastic water bottles were sold in 2005. And we drink and toss: In 2006, Americans guzzled an average of 167 bottles of water, but only 23 percent were recycled. And so 38 billion plastic water bottles (8 out of 10) went into landfills, and others were left clogging storm drains or turned into unsightly and nonbiodegradable roadside waste.

Overall, plastic PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling has been in decline since the mid-1990s high of about 30 percent. Today, the rate is not much more than 20 percent.

Sales of 10- to 12-ounce plastic water bottles increased 900 percent between 2002 and 2005, from 1.9 billion to 18.9 billion. One thing that indicated was a move from larger sizes to “on the go” single serves—a switch that dramatically increased plastic waste.

Bottled water is a big energy consumer: A year’s US supply uses up 1.5 million barrels of oil, enough to keep 100,000 cars on the road. We’re leaving a problem for future generations. When they go into landfills, these robust containers will stay intact for an estimated 700 years.

There is a gratifying backlash against bottled water that could, over time, return us to the tap water-dependent 1970s. And it’s amazing how quickly the savings will accumulate. According to Earth911.org, if everyone in New York City gave up water bottles for 1 week, they would save 24 million bottles from being land filled; 1 month would save 112 million bottles and 1 year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill. www.container-recycling.org