Can You Remove Plastic Bottles from your Life?

On average, roughly half a trillion plastic bottles are produced every single year, primarily for the huge drinks industry. Despite growing efforts to recycle bottles and reduce waste, billions of those bottles end up in landfills or in the ocean, contributing to problems such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and more than 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean at the last count.

Though it might seem impossible, removing plastic bottles from our lives would go a long way to relieving the strain on Mother Earth and her waters.

We need to talk about plastic

Of all the problems facing the world’s waterways right now – improper wastewater treatment methods, blue green algae, extreme flooding and the resultant pollution – plastic is undoubtedly the most serious. Left unchecked, we could soon face a scenario whereby the world’s oceans contain more plastic than fish by 2050.  

While there are major clean-up operations underway all across the globe, employing all kinds of new and innovative technological techniques, the surest way to re-establish the purity of our oceans is to prevent the plastic from reaching them in the first place. Now that Britain is finally beginning to address its massive over-consumption of plastic bags, the spotlight must be turned to bottles.

Curbing your addiction

It’s become almost fashionable to carry a plastic bottle full of water with you at all times. But while staying hydrated is important (especially during summer months), it shouldn’t come at the expense of the planet. The easiest and most significant way you can fight plastic pollution is by finding a bottle you like and sticking with it. Nowadays, there are a wide variety of options to choose from, including all manner of accoutrements from chlorine filters to fruit additives.

You can also take advantage of the free tap water which must legally be made available in any eating or drinking establishment. According to a recent study by Keep Britain Tidy, almost three quarters (71%) of the populace don’t like to exercise that legal right when not buying anything else, while over a third (37%) said they still felt uncomfortable asking for tap water even if they were buying! Social niceties are all well and good, but when they end up costing the planet, they should be done away with.  

Recycle, reuse, reduce

Even if you do pledge yourself to cutting out plastic bottle consumption altogether, the chances are that an occasion wherein you must drink from one will arise every now and again. In this case, it’s imperative that you recycle at every possible opportunity.

You might think that just one bottle won’t make a difference to the bigger picture; but such a viewpoint wilfully ignores that bigger picture. If everyone thought in that manner, we’d recycle very little of our waste and the problem would be exacerbated beyond all imagination. Therefore, it’s vital you recycle, reuse and reduce your waste in all aspects of your daily life – but especially with regards to plastic bottles.