Can I Reuse My Plastic Water Bottles? Empowering citizens to solve plastic waste

 Awareness talk about plastic pollution

Let's find out how citizens reuse plastic bottles

Angolans generally do not throw away mineral water bottles. They reuse these plastic bottles to conserve drinking water, keep them in a fridge or cooler to drink fresh water in hot weather, make ice to refresh drinks at picnics and parties.

Single-use plastic water bottles are everywhere. As they are easy to refill from the tap or water cooler, you will often see people reusing these plastic bottles despite warnings that they should never be reused.

Two dangers are typically cited with these warnings. The first is that chemicals might leach from the plastic into the water you are drinking. The second is that bacteria can grow in the bottles once they are opened.

But are these dangers founded on science? 

Some research shows that reusing plastic water bottles is unwise because chemicals may leach into water, and bacteria and fungi can grow in the bottles, making drinking water unsafe. However, the science behind these theories is not conclusive, and not exclusive to single-use plastic water bottles.

Disposable water bottles are usually made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). As of 2020, there is no solid evidence that reusing PET water bottles raises the risk of chemicals leaching into the water. However, you should always throw away bottles that have cracks or are showing other signs of degradation.

The plastic water bottle industry is booming

The bottled water industry is a juggernaut. More than 1 million bottles of water are sold every minute around the world and the industry shows no sign of slowing down, according to a new report. Global sales of bottled water are expected to nearly double by 2030.

But the industry’s enormous global success comes at a huge environmental, climate and social cost, according to the report published by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, which analyzes the industry’s global impacts.

Groundwater extracted to help fill billions of plastic bottles a year poses a potential threat to drinking water resources and feeds the world’s plastic pollution crisis, while the industry’s growth helps distract attention and resources away from funding the public-water infrastructure desperately needed in many countries, according to the report.

Can I Reuse My Plastic Water Bottles? Empowering citizens to solve plastic waste. By Sofonie Dala

Awareness talk about plastic pollution. By Sofonie Dala, Angola Plastic Bottles Environmental pollution JOIN THE ACTION HERE: https://sustainablelifestyle-angola.blogspot.com/2023/07/can-i-reuse-my-plastic-water-bottles.html