Plastic is NOT Fantastic!

How many of you ever grab that plastic water bottle from your refridgerator and feel a sense of guilt knowing that "roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year"? Probably feeling some guilt there by now, huh?

It's ok though! I was once a plastic-water-bottle-user, but I have overcome this serious environmental as well as health hazard toward a better lifestyle in H2O consumption. "Scientists in Germany have found that PET plastics -- the kind used to make water bottles, among many other common products -- may also harbor hormone-disrupting chemicals that leach into the water." Crazy, right?! How about we NOT drink from plastic bottles that have hormone-disrupting chemicals?

Now, you're probably thinking, "Dr. Green T, what CAN we drink our water out of?" Wonderful question! Your best bet is to go for reusable, stainless steel water bottles! Preferably the ones that are BPA-Free like Klean Kanteen which is known as being the healthiest and safest water bottle you can buy! They use toxin-free materials, 100% stainless steel, made to last a lifetime, have fair labor standards, and design their bottles to be as environmental as possible!

Klean Kanteen isn't the only plastic water bottle alternative out there. I currently use SIGG water bottles because they have more attractive designs to choose from. They have been making bottles since 1990, even though their aluminum processing company was established in 1908, and "are manufactured in an ecologically-friendly environment and are 100% recyclable after their very long lives. In fact, most SIGGs in Europe are still being used 10-20 years after purchase." Awesome, right?

With all of this new information being absorbed in your mind, don't you feel the urge to run down to a Sports Basement or open a new window on your computer to locate the best reusable water bottle you can buy! It's an investment you should seriously consider for not only the environment's sake, but for your health as well.

Peace&Love,
Dr. Green T

Works Cited:
"About Us." SIGG, 2006. Web. 19 Mar 2010. http://mysigg.com/index.asp?PageAction=COMPANY.

Sohn, Emily. "Plastic Water Bottles May Pose Health Hazard." Discovery News. Discovery Channel, 28 Apr 2009. Web. 19 Mar 2010. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/28/water-bottles-health.html.

"The Effects of Bottled Water on the Environment." AllAboutWater.org, 2004. Web. 19 Mar 2010. http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html.

"Why Klean Kanteen." Canvas Dreams, 2009. Web. 19 Mar 2010. http://www.kleankanteen.com/about/kanteen-101/why.html.

Ask Dr. Green T: Workin' at the Jar Wash!

The water company asks us not to rinse our food containers(eg. milk containers etc.) before we recycle them, to conserve water; but waste management asks us to rinse out food containers, so that we don't contaminate the rest of the recycling. Which option is more environmentally friendly?
-Adam OCamb, Green News Editorial Board

The concept of whether or not one should waste the water required to clean a recyclable item is something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration. I usually wash items like yogurt or peanut butter containers before recycling them because I find such food waste will mold and be difficult for the company to clean later on. However, other items like milk containers, soup cans, and so on are a different story as they're in liquid form and don't make as much a mess after you've finished with them. Now, let's get another opinion on this issue!

Nina Shen Rastogi from Slate Magazine answers this question in her own article by explaining that "recycling facilities are well equipped to handle dirty cans and bottles, so some caked-on tomato sauce and the occasional stray chickpea won't significantly hinder the process. Residue left on plastic or glass containers generally gets flushed out with water at some point in the process; most of the gunk left behind on steel and aluminum cans is burned away when those containers get melted down. So there's no need to waste water by running the faucet over your recyclables—even if you were to get them squeaky clean, they'd probably end up getting washed again, anyhow" (Rastogi).

Also, if you're interested in learning about the recycling process for plastic food containers, then Click Here. This statement letter dates back to 1996, but not much has changed since then.

With all this information in mind, there seems to be a consensus that washing one's recyclable food containers is rather pointless as these items will be cleaned again once they hit the factory. As a common courtesy to those workers, it would be nice to rinse out the occasional mayo jar or yogurt cup, but honestly, it's going to get washed again no matter how spotless it is when you recycle it. :P

Peace&Love,
Dr. Green T


Works Cited:
Rastogi, Nina Shen. "Clean Jar, Clean Conscience?." Slate. 03 Feb 2009. Newsweek Interactive Co, Web. 16 Oct 2009. .