More water bottles recycled in 2008, but drinking bottled water is still a bad idea

The International Bottled Water Association issued a press release this week reporting that recycling rates for half liter plastic water bottles rose from 23.4 percent to 30.9 percent in 2008, according to two new studies by the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR): the 2008 Post Consumer PET Bottle Bale Composition Analysis and 2008 Report on PET Water Bottle Recycling.

“This big improvement in bottled water container recycling over the 30% mark, while encouraging, reminds us that still more needs to be done,” Association spokesman Tom Lauria
said in a press release.

We couldn't agree more.

While we're pleased that American consumers are more aggressively recycling bottled water containers, we'd like to see them trash bottled water all together. Recycling is the only option for dealing with the glut of single-serving water bottles already sitting on store shelves, in vending machines and in your refrigerators.

But let's not forget the other spokes of the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle.

Recycling was the way most of us are introduced to the green mindset. And it's a great way to deal with an existing waste problem. But individually and as citizens of the world, we need to put more emphasis on the other Rs - reducing and reusing. There's no reason to buy water in individual bottle servings when there are other equally convenient and affordable sources of water. And when we buy packaged goods, we need to seek out those in reusable and renewable packaging.

As consumers, we can speak very loudly with our dollars. If we don't spend money on one-time-use products and packaging, companies will stop offering them for sale and stop consuming precious resources to make them.

Photo by orphanjanes, licensed under Creative Commons

Battle over Delaware bottle bill continues

Delaware this summer dodged a repeal of its bottle bill, which requires a refundable deposit on purchases of bottled beverages. But this issue is far from dead in Delaware.

Governor Jack Markell in June vetoed legislation that would have repealed the state's bottle bill. Those who were pushing for the repeal argued that the bottle bill was flawed and was hampering curbside recycling efforts. Now activists in favor of keeping and strengthening the bottle have more work to do in convincing Delaware state legislators not to override the governor's veto and to support a revamped bottle bill to be introduced in January.

One of the common criticisms of bottle bills is that they discourage curbside recycling. Proponents of the repeal hauled out that same tired excuse in Delaware, even though numerous studies show that they actually increase recycling. Also, curbside recycling is not as widely available in Delaware as the bill implied, according to the online Bottle Bill Resource Guide.

We've never really understood this particular objection to bottle bills. The crux seems to be that if consumers can't recycle bottles and cans at the curbside, then they won't bother with recycling at all. While it's certainly more convenient to be able to throw all your recyclables into one container, it requires very little extra effort to sort and separate recyclables. In fact, many municipalities require residents to do that. Those of us who recycle already separate our trash from our recyclables.

It may take a while to get into the habit of sorting refundable containers from recyclables, but to argue that is an onerous task is ridiculous.

Don't we sort our laundry? And our groceries, storing the perishables in the refrigerator and freezer and the rest in the pantry? So, what's the big deal about sorting recyclables? Do it long enough, and it will become habit -- just one of those things we do.

For more on bottle bills, check out this link on Break Free 411.

Single-serve packaging is an eco-travesty

New data compiled by the Container Recycling Institute shows how recycling rates for #1 PET plastic bottles stacks up against those of other beverage containers.

Or rather, how many plastic water, soda and juice bottles wind up as waste instead of being recycled.

The number is staggering: more than 40 billion annually.


Only soda and beer cans have a worse record -- more than 50 billion annually are trashed, compared with more than 20 billion glass bottles.

What these numbers tell us is that American consumers need to do a better job not only at recycling but also reducing our consumption of plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles. We need to break free from single-serve packaging in all its forms. We're paying a huge environmental cost for the convenience of single-serve packaging.

Switch from bottled water to Primo Water in 5-gallon reusable bottles. Buy sodas in 2 liter bottles or replace them with healthier iced tea or lemonade you make at home. Purchase larger bottles of wine and growlers of beer. Pack snacks in reusable containers rather than buying convenience packs. Serve the kids water instead of juice boxes and pouches, or fill their cups with juice from a larger container. Freeze leftovers in reusable containers and take those for lunch instead of prepackaged frozen meals, which are often high in sodium and calories.

What are ways that you're recycling and reusing in your own life? We'd love to hear your innovative ideas for reducing, reusing and recycling.

More creative recycling of water bottles

While it's no Plastiki, you have to applaud Micah Weiss's ingenuity in building a pontoon boat from hundreds of discarded water bottles.



He documents the process at Project rRaft and provides detailed instructions for other eco-minded do-it-yourselfers at Instructables.

Adventurer to Sail the Pacific in Catamaran Built from Thousands of Plastic Bottles

Always looking to highlight ingenious do-it-yourselfers and creative solutions to problems, the editors at ReadyMade magazine this month tackle the glut of plastic bottles that wind up in landfills every year.

They managed to find some people who are doing some creative, crafty and redeeming things with PET water bottles. We thought we'd highlight a few in the coming days and weeks since the ReadyMade article isn't available online.

Adventurer and environmental storyteller David de Rothschild, is using thousands of bottles to build a catamaran that he plans to sail across the Pacific. The 60-foot Plastiki is an amazing vessel, made completely from reclaimed plastic bottles. You can learn more about the Plastiki and follow de Rothschild's voyage here. (He should be setting sail later this year, following ocean tests of the vessel this month.) He'll also be tweeting the journey.

de Rothschild talks about the Plastiki and his expedition in this YouTube video.

New York To Require Deposits on Bottled Water

Later this month, New York will begin requiring a 5-cent deposit on bottled water. New Yorkers already have to pay a deposit when they purchase sodas, carbonated beverages, wine coolers and beer. That deposit is refundable if they return the empty bottles and cans to a local store for recycling.

Consumer sentiments about the new law are mixed. Some resident believe the deposits will have a positive environmental impact because they will discourage people from trashing their empty water bottles. But others are bemoaning the fact that the new law will raise the price of a case of water by more than $2.

New York state, where some 2.5 billion bottles of water are sold annually, is one of only 11 states that requires deposits on bottled and canned beverages. It is one of only six states requiring deposits on bottled water. Connecticut just began requiring a 5-cent deposit on bottled water on Oct. 1.

Bottle bills usually dramatically improve recycling rates in the states where they are enacted. So, it's likely that New Yorkers will stop contributing to the steady stream of bottled water waste that winds up in landfills.

State officials are projecting an increase in recycling, according to an article on MPNnow.com:

“Water is about 25 percent of the overall beverage market,” said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate for the New York Public Interest Research Group. “With the expansion, we’re capturing about 90 percent of the beverages we believe should have deposits on them.”

Earlier state laws required deposits on soda and other carbonated beverages, wine coolers and beer, with a study showing they raised aluminum can recycling from less than 20 percent to more than 80 percent.

New laws taking effect Oct. 1 to impact bottled water drinkers

New laws taking effect today in several states will have an impact on bottled water drinkers.

Beginning today, residents of Connecticut will have to pay a 5 cent deposit on every bottle of water they buy. This extends the state's existing bottle bill, which requires consumers to pay a refundable deposit on beverage purchases.

Bottle bills, while they do generate revenues for states, also are aimed at improving recycling rates. Customers receive a refund only when they return their empty bottles to the store, where they are collected and recycled. By the end of the year, six states will require deposits on bottled water.

Here in North Carolina, Primo Water's home state, it's now illegal to throw plastic bottles and containers in the trash. We applaud the state's efforts to encourage mandatory recycling on plastic bottles, but we realize that enforcing this law will be difficult and perhaps even unpopular.

But it is so necessary. DigTriad reports that four of every five plastic containers are thrown away instead of recycled. According to the N.C. Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance, only 18 percent of plastic bottles used in the state are recycled. That's the height of environmental irresponsibility.

According to the city of Greensboro, if every plastic bottle used in the state were recycled, that would keep more than 2.4 billion plastic bottles from landfills annually.

The new law sends the message to residents that we can't keep throwing plastic into our landfills. Because of the number of plastic bottles that are trashed annually -- billions -- we're already facing huge environmental consequences for this wasteful behavior. The new law makes those consequences more immediate. Throw away plastic containers in North Carolina instead of recycling them and face a potential fine.

Actually, North Carolina residents don't have to worry about being fined for tossing an empty bottle in the trash instead of the recycling ban. But state inspectors will be looking for trash haulers who dump loads of plastic and other banned materials in landfills.

Here's more on enforcement of the new plastic bottle ban from Earth911:

It’s not going to be a Big Brother law, but the best way to be in compliance with the law is to recycle plastic bottles,” says Scott Mouw, environmental supervisor for the North Carolina Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. “Everyone wants to do the right thing, and the right thing is to recycle.”

While we don't believe that garbage cops should target individuals, we do hope that this new law will encourage more people to recycle plastics. Many municipalities in the state offer curbside recycling, making it so easy for residents to recycle. We'd also love to see more restaurants and public venues offer recycling bins alongside trash cans.

Of course, laws like this would be moot if more people would take the pledge and Break Free from bottled water and reduce their overall consumption of plastic bottles and containers.

Filling up landfills with billions of plastic water bottles

Recycling rates for plastic water bottles are very low.

Only 12 percent of the billions of plastic water bottles that are sold every year are recycled. The rest went into landfills.

A chilling statistic, yes, but it's really hard to envision the environmental impact of all that waste until you see it for yourself.



We wish we could take credit for this video, but it's the work of Doug James of Cornell University.

Bottled Water Bills Coming in More States

Recycling rates for water bottles are pretty dismal -- just 12 percent compared to 30 percent for other beverages. Part of the reason for that gulf may be that a lot of bottled water is consumed at concerts, sporting events, festivals and even at the office, where recycling is not offered.

But surely another reasons is that many states require deposits on other beverages, but not on bottled water. Well, that trend is changing. Eleven states have enacted bottle bills, requiring mandatory deposits on sodas, juices and other bottled beverages. In many places, bottled water has been exempt from those deposits.

According to Consumer Reports, by the end of this year, six states will require deposits on water bottles. They are Oregon, Hawaii, California, Maine, Connecticut and New York.

New York's deposit program, originally set to begin in June, should take effect this fall. And Connecticut's goes into effect Oct. 1.

In New York and Connecticut, consumers will be required by pay a 5 cent deposit on every bottle of water purchase, refundable when the empty bottles are returned to the store.

The bottled water companies and the International Bottled Water Association aren't happy with these new laws because it increases the cost of their product at a time when bottled water sales are already spiraling downward, as consumers become more aware of the economic and environmental costs.



For instance, in response to the Connecticut bottle bill, the IBWA argued that requiring deposits will hurt curbside recycling efforts in the state:

By enacting this bill, the Legislature has created a disincentive for curbside recycling efforts in Connecticut. The new deposit will give consumers a financial incentive not to put their empty bottles into curbside recycle bins. Instead they will now haul a larger percentage of their own trash back to the store instead of relying on the convenience, ease and simplicity of curbside recycling programs. Plus, they are forced to pay more upfront at the point of purchase. While a refund is possible, it requires far more effort on the part of busy consumers.

But that's really a specious argument. It assumes that "busy consumers" already are recycling that empty water bottles. But the 12 percent recycling rate for water bottles clearly indicates they are now. What's more, statistics show that mandatory deposits actually improve recycling rates.

The Associated Press reports that in New York:

Earlier state laws required deposits on soda and other carbonated beverages, beer, and wine coolers, with a study showing they raised aluminum can recycling from less than 20 percent to more than 80 percent.