Plastic water bottles have become a scourge on the planet. They pollute the ocean with plastic. Their plastic debris kills birds, turtles and other wildlife. They cost us consumers way more money than we should be spending on something as simple as water. And they rob local people of their own source of drinking water. They should go the way of the dodo – and become extinct!

TradeMachines.com, a company that helps businesses buy used machinery and equipment rather than brand new (which helps save money and natural resources), has put together one of the best infographics I’ve ever seen about the impact that plastic water bottles has on us and our planet. Here are some key elements from the graphic. I hope you will visit TradeMachines.com to view the infographic in its entirety. Then, share it with your friends, family, and social media communities. Thanks!

Say NO! to Plastic Water Bottles

The oil used to make plastic water bottles could keep 1 million cars running for 12 months!

Plastic water bottles pollute the oceans and threaten birds and wildlife.

Don’t Miss: “Finding Dory Will Be Impossible If We Don’t Stop Trashing the Oceans” 

Enough plastic water bottles aren’t being recycled.

What’s the point? Water in plastic bottles tastes no better than tap water.

What Should You Use Instead?

There are so many alternatives to plastic water bottles now, there’s almost no excuse for buying bottled water unless there’s a pollution scare in your community.

We’ve identified five of your best options here:

Again, remember to take a look at the entire graphic and share it widely. People are so used to buying bottled water, they forget to consider the impacts. You can help, by using a reusable bottle yourself and by educating others.

Thanks to TradeMachines.com for sponsoring this post. As always, our editorial opinions remain our own.

The post Why Plastic Water Bottles Have to Go the Way of the Dodo appeared first on Big Green Purse.

That’s the idea behind #WeWantRefill, an important new petition drive asking retailers to put plastic container refilling stations in their stores to make it easy for us consumers to use and throwaway less plastic.

WeWantRefill is sponsoring this post. We’re working with them because we support the idea of refilling and reusing plastic containers 100%.

Why Refill?

Fewer than 40% of plastic bottles are recycled. Instead, they get thrown away, where they can break into chunks and little pieces called #microplastic and easily get into our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

It’s estimated that every square mile of ocean has 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it. And no matter what we’ll do, we’ll never get that plastic out of the ocean.

But we don’t need to add to the problem. The key is to prevent plastic waste in the first place. Of course, the most important step you can take is to go plastic-free and use non-plastic packaging as much as possible. But when you do use plastic bottles and jugs, shouldn’t they be refillable?

That’s where We Want Refill comes in. #WeWantRefill is leading a global petition drive to pressure retailers like grocery stores to set up refill stations so it is easy for you and me to refill our plastic jugs an bottles instead of throw them away.

How Does a Refill Station Work?

If you buy food in bulk, you already get this idea. You simply go to the bulk bin and refill either your own container or a bag you can get at the bin. Many traditional grocery stores, food co-ops, and Whole Foods-type stores devote aisles to bins of grains, tea, nuts, dried pasta, cereal, flour, sugar, dried herbs, candy, and more. You simply fill up your container and note the SKU number on a tie or the container so the cashier can charge you the correct price when you check out.

Some retailers also have in-store stations set up when you can squeeze your own orange juice into a bottle, grind your own peanut butter, dispense your own olive oil and honey, and package up your own feta cheese and tofu.

Why not refill shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, laundry detergent, and liquid soap the same way? Here’s how easy it is:

Some retailers offering refill stations already exist. Here’s one in France. It’s called “Day by Day,” and it’s committed to zero waste.

Here’s one in Brooklyn, NY called The Fillery.

Why Do We Need a Petition?

Organizers of the effort say “the whole purpose of the #WeWantRefill campaign is to show retailers and manufacturers that we, the consumer, want change and we’re ready for this technology. Stores will never do this on their own; when we’ve approached them, their answer is that consumers won’t shop this way.”

By signing the WeWantRefill petition, and liking the campaign’s Facebook page, we can show retailers that there is grassroots support for eliminating plastic by being able to refill plastic containers when we shop.

Won’t It Make a Mess?

“The types of technology available makes the mess obsolete,” reports WeWantRefill. “The refill machine recognizes the size of your container and refills it appropriately.” It’s not a hand-pump system, which can be messy, but rather an automated system that makes refilling clean and efficient.

Please Sign The Petition

WeWantRefill is planning to send copies of the petitions to WalMart, Target, and Whole Foods, as well as manufacturers like Pepsi, L’Oreal, and Procter & Gamble to show them there is support for setting up in-store retailers. We’ve signed, and we hope you will too.

And remember: Follow #wewantrefill on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest campaign news.

The post Want to Eliminate Plastic Pollution? Sign the #WeWantRefill Petition. appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Reusable water bottles are superior to single-use, throwaway plastic bottles when it comes to reducing throwaway plastic and saving water.

  It’s estimated that as much as two gallons of water might be wasted for every gallon that’s bottled in a factory, so filling up at home, at work, or on the go is a great way to save this precious resource.

 

Plus, one reusable water bottle can eliminate the need to buy and trash literally hundreds of single-use containers – containers that actually never really biodegrade.

 

The post 5 Best Reusable Water Bottles appeared first on Big Green Purse.

If you’re still drinking from a plastic throwaway bottle, some kind of home water filter system should definitely be in your future. Why?

First, you’re spending way too much money on bottled water. Consumer Reports estimates that filling a 16.9-ounce bottle with tap water in New York City costs about 1.3 tenths of a cent. Buy that same bottle already full of water at a convenience store and, with the deposit, it will run you $1.00. If you refill that bottle from you tap every day for a year, you’d be out only 48 cents. Buy a bottle of water a day? It’ll drain you a whopping $365. Duh!

Second, you could be making yourself sick. Plastic bottles that contain (BPA) bisphenol A – or its alternative — may be toxic to your health . Some studies show that BPA may contribute to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, birth defects and Attention Deficit Disorder.

Third, you’re trashing the planet. Plastic bottles are made from petroleum, then packaged, shipped out, and ultimately end up as trash or litter along the road or in a river or stream.

Fourth, even when you buy bottled water, you’re probably drinking tap water, since that’s what many bottlers use to fill their bottles. So…why pay for someone else’s bottle, bottle top, filling process, and all the rest?

Fifth, you can filter tap water at home to get the quality of water that you want to drink. There are many affordable counter-top filter pitchers that do a pretty good job of filtering out some of the contaminants that might be in water.

But to do the most thorough job, consider a whole house water filtration system. One big benefit of such a system is that it filters your entire home water supply so that the water you have in the shower or at the bathroom sink is just as clean as the water you tap in the kitchen. For example, the PelicanWater whole house water filtration system leaves in beneficial minerals while removing other contaminants that are regularly found in tap water, ultimately creating better tasting water.

When choosing a whole house system, consider the following:

1. Contaminants Filtered Check the National Drinking Water Database maintained by the Environmental Working Group. It should be able to tell you what, if any, contaminants are present in the water coming out of your tap. When you choose a filter, make sure it will trap the contaminants local to you.

2. Performance Features Water Filter Systems Review says that under-the-counter water filters will reduce contaminants in different stages. They recommend that you look for a filter that provides at least three separate stages to reduce pollutants from the water. Each stage will remove a different type of contaminant such as sediment, chemicals and residue. Also, be aware that some filters can affect water pressure. Look for systems that have a water pressure range of 55 to 65 psi.

3. Maintenance At some point, the filters on the system will need to be replaced. It’s helpful if your system has an automatic notification system to alert you to when you should change a cartridge.

4. Installation and Fit Make sure your system fits in the space you have allocated for it. And before you buy, check to see if it is something you can install yourself, or will require professional assistance. You want to make sure you can change the filters or cartridges yourself.

Sponsored by Pelican Water

The post 5 Reasons Why a Home Water Filter System Makes Sense appeared first on Big Green Purse.

You can learn more about the threats plastic pose and what you can do to protect yourself, your community, and wildlife,

by tuning in to the TedX conference on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Today, Saturday, November 6.

The post Here’s Your Chance to Learn About the Great Pacific Garbage Patch appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Yes, we need to phase out plastic bottles, and the sooner the better.

But in the meantime, can’t all you wizards come up with a bottle cap that will protect its contents securely but once discarded, degrade in a very short period of time?

You’ve gotta be able to do it. Talk to the folks at Frito-Lay, who have figured out how to package their snack packs in plant-based, biodegradable bags. In fact, why don’t we urge Frito’s parent company, Pepsi, to take the lead?  Start here.

The post Environmental S.O.S. For Water-Soluble, Biodegradable Bottle Caps appeared first on Big Green Purse.