By Carolyn Hovious

One of the main issues facing the plastic industry is the overuse of plastic water bottles and the amount of impact a single reusable water bottle can have overall. However it isn’t only plastic that is being overused to produce water bottles, it also uses an abundance of oil, energy, air pollution, and emissions of carbon dioxide. Plastic bottle production in the United States annually requires about 17.6 million barrels of oil, which can be greatly reduced if people swap to a reusable water bottle. Transporting bottled water to the market produces air pollution and emissions of carbon dioxide which contribute to global warming, which is another major issue facing our environment today. About 86 percent of empty plastic water bottles in the United States land in the garbage instead of being recycled. That amounts to about two million tons of PET plastic bottles piling up in U.S. landfills each year, landfills are rapidly becoming overcrowded leaving little to no space for the accumulating garbage to go.

Switching from plastic water bottles to reusable ones has more benefits than just reducing the amount of plastic used. Just simply by switching you can save yourself close to $200/year which would definitely add up over time. It can also help you reduce your personal amount of unnecessary oil used to create and transport plastic water bottles. Reusable water bottles also don’t have to just be for water, they can be used for coffee, tea, sodas or lemonades. Many plastic bottles end up being incinerated, releasing toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash laden with heavy metals into the air.

Overall it is healthier for not only you but the planet as to be using a reusable water bottle and other beverage containers opposed to buying a new one every single time, it’ll save you time, money and save the earth from unnecessary plastic waste.