With Earth day happening, many people are focusing on changes that they can make in their daily lives to reduce their affect on the environment. Some changes are drastic — many people have bought electric cars, more energy efficient appliances — and some people have made smaller, though no less meaningful changes in their lives. Let’s talk about one of those small, almost incremental changes that you can make in your day-to-day life that can make a real, beneficial difference.
Let’s talk water bottles.
People drink bottled water for a lot of reasons — maybe they are trying to drink less sugary beverages, or they question the quality of their tap water. Each day in the US, more than 60 million water bottles are tossed away. Bottled water can cost as much as 10,000 times more than tap water, and The Earth Policy Institute estimates that making bottles to meet the US demand for bottled water requires more than 15 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year. What’s a health conscious individual to do? After all, we NEED water, and the more exercise we participate in, the more thirsty we are. You could always recycle your bottles, that’s a good first step. As an even better move, what about a reusable bottle?
My family is big into sports. I have three kids who play soccer four days a week, two who run cross country, and three of us take Muay Thai boxing. Before we bought our reuseable bottles, we’d use two cases of bottled water a week. That’s a huge expense, and our recycling bin was packed full at the end of every week. No more. The best part about reuseable bottles? They can be personalized, with each person having a special color or design – and never again will you have to ask, “Just whose bottle is this, anyway?”