Angry Girl

I was doing a bit o' shopping at Patina over my lunch break and came across these bags that are really me in a nutshell. When did I become so pissed off?! ARG!! <--Me as a crabby pirate.

I've been slacking on my eco tips. I hardly think the one tip I posted counts as regular postings. So, here is a bunch of info on bottled water...

Save some plastic: drink tap water, versus bottled. 40 to 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown in the trash EVERY DAY! Just like plastic bags, they will sit in a landfill for up to 1000 years before they've decomposed. Additionally, 1.5 million barrels of crude oil are burned annually producing those plastic bottles. That is enough oil to keep 100,000 cars running for a year! Recycling definitely lowers the impact, but only about 12-15% of water bottles are being recycled. Most end up in the trash - largely due to the lack of plastic recycling containers found in places where bottled water is commonly consumed: the office, the car, the gym, parks, etc.

What to do?

One option... Cargill Dow has developed a corn-based plastic (PLA or polylactic acid) that is used to make the biodegradable water bottles used for BIOTA Spring Water, based in Colorado. Unlike the oil used to make PET water bottles (the standard plastic used to make water bottles), corn is a 100% renewable resource! The PLA plastic bottle will biodegrade in just 80 days in composting conditions (high heat, micro-organisms and high humidity). There is a listing, by state, of stores that carry BIOTA water on their web site. Here in Minnesota, it can be purchased at Surdyk's in NE Mpls, the Wedge Co-op in SW Mpls, Lakewinds Co-ops in Anoka, Chanhassen & Minnetonka, and Fresh Season's Market in Minnetonka.
(See note below regarding recycling/composting of PLA plastic.)

Alternatively... Using a dishwasher-safe, stainless steel bottle refilled with tap water and washed between uses is a great idea! Added benefits: bottled water costs about 500 times more than tap water and tap water has more fluoride than bottled, so it is better for your pearly whites!

(Sources: Yahoo! News, MSNBC.com, BIOTAspringwater.com)

There is some concern about mixing PET and PLA plastic when recycling, as explained here by the BIOTA web site:

"Studies have shown that there is no effect on the quality of recycled product when PLA makes up to 1% of the plastic mix. That's a lot of bottles! BIOTA is dedicated to working with municipalities to explore options for separating, recycling and composting PLA bottles. BIOTA is working with Recycle America/Waste Management to create and promote recycling infrastructures that will accept PLA products. The technology already exists to separate PLA from PET. This exciting development will create strong markets for recycled PLA products. BIOTA supports increasing community composting efforts throughout the US as an additional method of creating a resource from a waste!"

Screw bottled water! Go tap, yo!!