Are you one of those people who refuse to drink water from a tap? One who rather not risk the convenience and mythical health benefits of drinking “purified” bottle water? Have you ever stopped to think about where all those bottles end up when you’re through with them-if you guessed in a landfill forever attempting to decompose with no luck, then you’d be right!
DID YOU KNOW that Americans buy an estimated 29.8 billion plastic water bottles every year and less than one percent of those are recycled. When these plastics are kept in the landfill there is additional problems of toxins and other chemicals used in the production of plastic leaking into the surrounding environment and the possibility of starting landfill fires.
Plastics can also end up in our oceans, harming sea life. After a quick Google search of “How many sea animals are harmed each year by plastics?” I found some startling numbers:
Over 100,000 sea turtles, whales, and other marine animals are killed each year when they mistake plastics for food(National Geographic News). I also came across an article about a sea turtle that became disfigured from getting stuck in a plastic ring. Those poor sea turtles!
So the next time you decide you’d rather have the convenience of drinking from a bottle rather from a tap, just think about how much harm rather than good it’s doing. But if you simply cannot live without them, try using a few of these tips to recycle plastic bottles:
YOU COULD….
- Make a Watering Jug for the Garden
- Store Coins
Or even try this one on for size:
that’s right! The ENTIRE HOUSE made from recycled plastic bottles. Wouldn’t it be cool to live in one of those? You’d always know who was knocking at your door.
For more cool facts on recycling and plastics, check out some of these websites:
- http://www.natural-environment.com/blog/2008/01/10/environmental-impact-of-plastic-bags/
- http://earth911.com/recycling/plastic/plastic-bottles/facts-about-plastic-bottles/
- http://www.ehow.com/list_5891385_uses-plastic-recycling-bottles.html
Well, I’m off to go do some recycling now, catch you next week::
-Jenna
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