Plastics Give a Helpful Hand but are They Polluting Our Land?

One of the most influential technological advances affecting our society has been the development of the plastic water bottle in 1973. From using animal bladders to mason jars, the evolution of the water bottle has enabled us to easily and safely transport and store water. As water is essential for life, this is great news! Or is it?

Plastic Bottles. By Tony Webster. Image from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0

Governments have been evaluating the cost and benefits of plastic bottles in regards to global warming. Some argue that they should be completely removed from consumer availability. Leading the way, the town of Bundanoon, Australia, outlawed bottled water in 2009.

Despite the expanding movement to ban plastic water bottles, there are many who think a ban will negatively impact our society and environment. During times of crisis, such as contaminated water supplies or natural disasters, plastic water bottles have been a vital part of emergency water supplies. Increases in plastic water bottle sales have been correlated with the occurrence of tropical storms. Thus, the removal of plastic water bottles would eliminate a reliably clean and readily available source of water, delaying the recovery of affected areas.

Bottled water offers consumers a healthy beverage contrary to sugary soft drinks. When the University of Vermont banned the sale of plastic water bottles in 2013, sales of sugary drinks increased. Counterproductively, this caused a 20% increase of plastic bottles on campus.

If a ban on plastic water bottles has so many detrimental consequences, then you may be asking yourself, why are so many towns and universities banning them?

To date, about 70% of plastic water bottles end up in the ocean or landfills in the United States. At this rate, by 2050 the accumulated weight of plastic water bottles is estimated to overtake the weight of fish in the ocean. As described in the Ted Talk, used plastic water bottles follow three main routes, of which two end in our ecosystems. Decreasing plastic water bottle availability will reduce pollution.

Youtube: TedTalk about the life of a plastic bottle

Public water fountains are a prevalent and cost-effective alternative to plastic water bottles. Penn State University mathematicians have estimated that investing in a $20 reusable water bottle will save an American on average $1,236 per year. Not only can water fountains save money, they provide code-regulated water that is fluorinated without contaminants from PET plastic.

Enacting a plastic water bottle ban will save people thousands, provide a cleaner source of water, and decrease the amount of plastic introduced into our environment. Keeping plastic water bottles would decrease consumer soft drink intake and provide a reliable source of water in crisis. So should we ban plastic water bottles?

I believe that a conscious effort should be made by the public to utilize reusable water bottles and water fountains. What is the use of having plastic water bottles, when we will have no clean water to fill them with? Elimination of plastic water bottle waste may help to tip the scales in the fight against plastic pollution in our environment. 

-Teresa Howard