There are many manmade products that have an impact, both positive and negative, on the environment. Plastics, water bottles in particular, are one manmade product that has a negative impact not only on the environment but also the human body. Plastic water bottles can harm the environment through pollution, improper recycling, and oil consumption. Although the environment is at risk from the use and disposal of water bottles the human body is also at risk. Contaminants from the plastic can lead to a wide variety of health problems that can devastate the human body. Collectively, plastic water bottles are a danger not only to the environment but to the body as well. During the last decade, the need for bottled water has increased immensely, making it the fastest growing product of the non-alcoholic beverage market across the nation (Ward 5). Although there are positive effects of plastic water bottles, the negative effects seem to outweigh the positives; therefore, the government should higher the tax of bottled water to reduce the purchasing rate. By the tax rate going up, this will hopefully decrease the purchasing of plastic water bottles and help the environment and health problems.
There are many reasons why plastic water bottles are causing harm to the environment. One factor is the pollution it causes. Just the transportation of plastic water bottles alone causes a threat to our environment. Global warming pollution is given off when moving the bottles from one place to another. In 2006, there was 18 million gallons of bottled water shipped in from Fiji to California. This transportation produced about 2,500 tons of global warming pollution (NRDC 13-14). Plastic water bottles are also polluting the waterways. Since plastic bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate plastics that over time break down into smaller fragments, the fragments toxins get into the waterways (Schriever 13). When it comes to beaches and oceans, plastic bottles are the most affective form of pollution discovered there. There are about ten percent of plastics made that end up in the oceans all around the world (Schriever 14-15). Plastic water bottles are causing major pollution problems and global warming throughout the environment that is making it even worse to live in. This negative effect is definitely a major threat to the environment.
Another downside to plastic water bottles is all the oil and energy consumption it uses on a daily basis. There is a lot of oil used in the production of plastic water bottles. In just a year, there is 17 million barrels of oil used when manufacturing bottled water (HydrateLife 2). This is in the United States alone. This amount of oil used could fuel more than 100,000 cars for a whole year (Ellsbury 5). All the energy that is needed in order to meet consumer demands for bottled water uses this amount of oil each year. This is a lot of oil required for such a short period of time. This consumption is way too high and just harming the environment even more. When it comes to the production of bottled water, a study shows that it takes about 2,000 times the energy required to produce tap water (Ellsbury 5). There is too much oil and energy consumed in the production of these plastics. Most of them end up in landfills and are just making the environment a growing wasteland.
The amount of waste that this product produces is continuing to increase its impact on the environment. There is so much waste that is piling up in landfills and on the streets because of plastic water bottles. Landfills throughout the country are piling up with plastic water bottles, which is not helping the environment at all. These bottles take a lot of years to decompose so they are just sitting in this landfills taking up space. Because only 1 out of 5 plastic water bottles are being recycled, there is 3 billion pounds of plastic bottle waste per year (HydrateLife 3). The recycling rate should be higher because the amount of waste is just increasing and causing serious problems. If more people recycled plastic water bottles, the harm this causes to our environment will decrease immensely.
A major factor of why plastic water bottles are causing a problem with the environment is because people are not recycling after they are done with them. More plastic bottles are ending up in the streets instead of the recycle bins. The amount of litter this causes is only hurting the environment. A main reason these bottles aren’t being recycled is because they are mostly consumed in outside in areas where there aren’t recycling bins provided. People rather just throw it away or litter for their convenience. The blame can’t really be fully but on an individual if the recycling system isn’t providing means of disposal for these bottles in public areas. In 2003, about 40 million plastic bottles a day were not recycled and went into the trash or became litter (Llanos 9). This problem could be resolved if people just recycled. If there were a nationwide bottle deposit law that was proposed, this would increase the recycling rate and help the environment.
Not only are plastic water bottles bad for the environment, but they can also hurt the human body. There are many health risks when it comes to plastic water bottles. People are exposed to many chemicals when drinking from plastic water bottles. One major chemical people can be exposed to us BPA (Bisphenol A). This chemical has been linked to many health problems dealing with learning and behavior, altered immune system function, prostate and breast cancer, and diabetes and obesity (Mercola 9). Another chemical leaked from plastic water bottles is phthalates. This chemical is linked to variety of developmental and reproductive effects (Mercola 11-12). The many problems that these plastic water bottles cause because of the chemicals that are leaked are not good for the human body. This make drinking from bottled water unsafe.
Another way plastic water bottles can become harmful to our bodies is when they are in the heat or sitting around for a long time. When bottled water is sitting around for a while, bacteria start to grow inside the bottle (Chowdhury 5). Bacteria get drawn to warm atmospheres; therefore, when the bottled is closed it give the bacteria more time inside the bottle. A study showed that a bottled that was around for 10 weeks leaked hormone-disrupting phthalates (Didier 5). Leaving plastic water bottles that have been left in heat can cause high levels of dioxin, which is a toxin, found in breast cancer tissue (Emery 2-3). One person who doctors think was affected by this was famous singer Sheryl Crow. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and the doctors strongly believe drinking bottled water that was left in her car caused it. This shows that it is not okay to leave plastic water bottles around, especially in the heat, for a long period of time. It can leak many chemicals and cause many health problems. People should stay away from plastic water bottles that have been in these situations so they can stay away from future health problems.
Even though there a lot of negatives that come from plastic water bottles, there are positives that come from them as well. There are some good things that do come from bottled water. The main reason bottled water is sold is because of their convenience they provide for people (Brady 2). People who are on the go all the time, find plastic water bottles to be easier for them to just grab and go. Plastic water bottles come in handy when someone is in their car, working out, or doing any type of activity where they will eventually need a sip of water. Without bottled water, people might turn too less healthy drinks that aren’t good for their bodies. Bottled water is definitely a healthier way when it comes to keeping one’s body hydrated while they are on the go.
Another big advantage of bottled water is that their suppliers have to meet certain regulations by the FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Even though some of the water in plastic water bottles comes from tap water, the companies take the cleansing and treating processes more seriously when making them (Stout 9). For the buyers of this product, it simply shows that they are going to be drinking safer and cleaner water than their public supply can afford. Even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the tap water that citizens drink, this doesn’t always mean that there will always be clean tap water available. The water lines can be contaminated after natural disasters, which means that the water supply that comes into people homes will not be safe to drink (Brady 3). In case of emergencies like this, it is good to have a supply of plastic water bottles so people can still have water to drink. Because of other countries not having a safe supply of water, there are plastic water bottles provided for them. There was a study done by Ohio State University that found 39 out of 57 bottled water brands are cleaner than tap water (Bumpres 2). Since the FDA makes sure that bottled water is purer than tap water and the water supply can sometimes be contaminated, this is a big positive for why people should purchase bottled water.
When it comes to recycling water bottles it can be a really good thing if people actually do it. Recycling saves a lot of energy and can really help out the environment even more. When people recycle plastic bottles, those plastics are reused to make new products. This saves up to 66% of energy alone (Recycling Facts). There are many advantages when it comes to recycling plastics bottles. When people recycle, they are helping reproduce new products that will save energy. This is a major advantage of recycling. Recycling procedures does not use a lot of energy, which is very good because we are preserving a lot of power (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 27). Another advantage it has is that it helps to decrease green house gas emissions. By recycling, since less energy is used, less contamination is required. So by the using recycled items to make new ones, decreases the greenhouse gas pollutants (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 28). One of the last major advantages recycling offers is the amount of oil that is preserved. A lot of oil is used in the process of making plastic bottles by recycling; these plastics can be reused and restored so more oil doesn’t have to be consumed (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 29).
The struggle of getting people to recycle their plastic water bottles is a major problem and one of the reasons the environment is at risk. But within the past two years, there has been an increase in the recycling of plastics. In 2012, the recycling of plastic water bottles increased by 6.2% in the United States (Popular Plastics and Packaging 7). It is good to see a rise in recycling with plastic water bottles because only good can come out of it. Hopefully in the future the recycling rate keeps increasing because it will only help. People have to keep recycling and spreading the word to recycle because plastic water bottles won’t cause as much problems as they are right now.
Plastic water bottles are a great convenience when it comes to being on the go and having that easy drink to be at the palm of your hands, but if it is coming with all these environmental and health risks, then are they really worth it? I am one who does drink plastic water bottles daily, but after learning about all the problems they cause, I think I’m going to stop myself from drinking them. We should not be drinking things that could cause us serious problems in the future. After all, it is only water. Even though we might not want to drink from tap water because it doesn’t have the cleaner and purer taste, at the end of the day, it is still better and cheaper for us. Plastic water bottles are only causing trouble to our health and the environment we live in and more people need to start noticing that. I really believe hiring the tax on water bottles can help this problem. This will decrease the sales of them and more people will start going back to drinking tap water, which will better many different things.
Many people may disagree with this, that plastic water bottles should be used still and no tax should be put on them. People enjoy the convenience they provide for their on-the-go activities. Today, people like when things are easy and are at their convenience. Plastic water bottles provide that for them so they will want everything about them to remain the same. They wouldn’t want to go out of their way to find tap water to drink from. People find that the benefits of drinking bottled water are the way they taste, their convenience, and their safety (American Chillers 1-3). Even though all these things are provided by plastic water bottles, they aren’t all true.
The safety of these water bottles isn’t as safe as everyone thinks. They are only causing health problems and environment problems. As stated up in my paper, plastic water bottles cause a serious of future health problems for people. Even though they go through a cleaning process before being sold, they still contain many contaminants. These contaminants lead to many problems. They can cause serious harms for our bodies and affect us for the rest of our lives. Drinking from plastic water bottles shouldn’t cause health problems but in reality, they do. The amount of problems they cause is not okay. They are supposed to be something that is convenient for us and helps our thirst and hydration but in the end they are only causing severe difficulties. The people who drink from plastic water bottles need to be aware of the risks they can cause to their bodies and the environment in which they live in. Matters could only get worse if we keep drinking from these and manufacturing them.
Plastic water bottles are definitely something that everyone uses. They are a major product on the market and always will be. Because of how big they are, it will be hard to get rid of them. The best thing we can do to decrease the problems they are causing is to just recycle and maybe try to switch people to using reusable bottles and drinking tap water. This could definitely help the environment big time. If plastic water bottles are going to be something that stays on the market for a long time, then we need to try our best to fix the problems they are causing. It will be hard but if people start realizing what they are doing then we can fix it. Hopefully one day, people will notice and do something about it. Until then, plastic water bottles are going to still be used daily causing problems for the environment and our health.
There are many reasons why plastic water bottles are causing harm to the environment. One factor is the pollution it causes. Just the transportation of plastic water bottles alone causes a threat to our environment. Global warming pollution is given off when moving the bottles from one place to another. In 2006, there was 18 million gallons of bottled water shipped in from Fiji to California. This transportation produced about 2,500 tons of global warming pollution (NRDC 13-14). Plastic water bottles are also polluting the waterways. Since plastic bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate plastics that over time break down into smaller fragments, the fragments toxins get into the waterways (Schriever 13). When it comes to beaches and oceans, plastic bottles are the most affective form of pollution discovered there. There are about ten percent of plastics made that end up in the oceans all around the world (Schriever 14-15). Plastic water bottles are causing major pollution problems and global warming throughout the environment that is making it even worse to live in. This negative effect is definitely a major threat to the environment.
Another downside to plastic water bottles is all the oil and energy consumption it uses on a daily basis. There is a lot of oil used in the production of plastic water bottles. In just a year, there is 17 million barrels of oil used when manufacturing bottled water (HydrateLife 2). This is in the United States alone. This amount of oil used could fuel more than 100,000 cars for a whole year (Ellsbury 5). All the energy that is needed in order to meet consumer demands for bottled water uses this amount of oil each year. This is a lot of oil required for such a short period of time. This consumption is way too high and just harming the environment even more. When it comes to the production of bottled water, a study shows that it takes about 2,000 times the energy required to produce tap water (Ellsbury 5). There is too much oil and energy consumed in the production of these plastics. Most of them end up in landfills and are just making the environment a growing wasteland.
The amount of waste that this product produces is continuing to increase its impact on the environment. There is so much waste that is piling up in landfills and on the streets because of plastic water bottles. Landfills throughout the country are piling up with plastic water bottles, which is not helping the environment at all. These bottles take a lot of years to decompose so they are just sitting in this landfills taking up space. Because only 1 out of 5 plastic water bottles are being recycled, there is 3 billion pounds of plastic bottle waste per year (HydrateLife 3). The recycling rate should be higher because the amount of waste is just increasing and causing serious problems. If more people recycled plastic water bottles, the harm this causes to our environment will decrease immensely.
A major factor of why plastic water bottles are causing a problem with the environment is because people are not recycling after they are done with them. More plastic bottles are ending up in the streets instead of the recycle bins. The amount of litter this causes is only hurting the environment. A main reason these bottles aren’t being recycled is because they are mostly consumed in outside in areas where there aren’t recycling bins provided. People rather just throw it away or litter for their convenience. The blame can’t really be fully but on an individual if the recycling system isn’t providing means of disposal for these bottles in public areas. In 2003, about 40 million plastic bottles a day were not recycled and went into the trash or became litter (Llanos 9). This problem could be resolved if people just recycled. If there were a nationwide bottle deposit law that was proposed, this would increase the recycling rate and help the environment.
Not only are plastic water bottles bad for the environment, but they can also hurt the human body. There are many health risks when it comes to plastic water bottles. People are exposed to many chemicals when drinking from plastic water bottles. One major chemical people can be exposed to us BPA (Bisphenol A). This chemical has been linked to many health problems dealing with learning and behavior, altered immune system function, prostate and breast cancer, and diabetes and obesity (Mercola 9). Another chemical leaked from plastic water bottles is phthalates. This chemical is linked to variety of developmental and reproductive effects (Mercola 11-12). The many problems that these plastic water bottles cause because of the chemicals that are leaked are not good for the human body. This make drinking from bottled water unsafe.
Another way plastic water bottles can become harmful to our bodies is when they are in the heat or sitting around for a long time. When bottled water is sitting around for a while, bacteria start to grow inside the bottle (Chowdhury 5). Bacteria get drawn to warm atmospheres; therefore, when the bottled is closed it give the bacteria more time inside the bottle. A study showed that a bottled that was around for 10 weeks leaked hormone-disrupting phthalates (Didier 5). Leaving plastic water bottles that have been left in heat can cause high levels of dioxin, which is a toxin, found in breast cancer tissue (Emery 2-3). One person who doctors think was affected by this was famous singer Sheryl Crow. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and the doctors strongly believe drinking bottled water that was left in her car caused it. This shows that it is not okay to leave plastic water bottles around, especially in the heat, for a long period of time. It can leak many chemicals and cause many health problems. People should stay away from plastic water bottles that have been in these situations so they can stay away from future health problems.
Even though there a lot of negatives that come from plastic water bottles, there are positives that come from them as well. There are some good things that do come from bottled water. The main reason bottled water is sold is because of their convenience they provide for people (Brady 2). People who are on the go all the time, find plastic water bottles to be easier for them to just grab and go. Plastic water bottles come in handy when someone is in their car, working out, or doing any type of activity where they will eventually need a sip of water. Without bottled water, people might turn too less healthy drinks that aren’t good for their bodies. Bottled water is definitely a healthier way when it comes to keeping one’s body hydrated while they are on the go.
Another big advantage of bottled water is that their suppliers have to meet certain regulations by the FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Even though some of the water in plastic water bottles comes from tap water, the companies take the cleansing and treating processes more seriously when making them (Stout 9). For the buyers of this product, it simply shows that they are going to be drinking safer and cleaner water than their public supply can afford. Even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the tap water that citizens drink, this doesn’t always mean that there will always be clean tap water available. The water lines can be contaminated after natural disasters, which means that the water supply that comes into people homes will not be safe to drink (Brady 3). In case of emergencies like this, it is good to have a supply of plastic water bottles so people can still have water to drink. Because of other countries not having a safe supply of water, there are plastic water bottles provided for them. There was a study done by Ohio State University that found 39 out of 57 bottled water brands are cleaner than tap water (Bumpres 2). Since the FDA makes sure that bottled water is purer than tap water and the water supply can sometimes be contaminated, this is a big positive for why people should purchase bottled water.
When it comes to recycling water bottles it can be a really good thing if people actually do it. Recycling saves a lot of energy and can really help out the environment even more. When people recycle plastic bottles, those plastics are reused to make new products. This saves up to 66% of energy alone (Recycling Facts). There are many advantages when it comes to recycling plastics bottles. When people recycle, they are helping reproduce new products that will save energy. This is a major advantage of recycling. Recycling procedures does not use a lot of energy, which is very good because we are preserving a lot of power (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 27). Another advantage it has is that it helps to decrease green house gas emissions. By recycling, since less energy is used, less contamination is required. So by the using recycled items to make new ones, decreases the greenhouse gas pollutants (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 28). One of the last major advantages recycling offers is the amount of oil that is preserved. A lot of oil is used in the process of making plastic bottles by recycling; these plastics can be reused and restored so more oil doesn’t have to be consumed (Advantages Of Plastic Bottles Recycling 29).
The struggle of getting people to recycle their plastic water bottles is a major problem and one of the reasons the environment is at risk. But within the past two years, there has been an increase in the recycling of plastics. In 2012, the recycling of plastic water bottles increased by 6.2% in the United States (Popular Plastics and Packaging 7). It is good to see a rise in recycling with plastic water bottles because only good can come out of it. Hopefully in the future the recycling rate keeps increasing because it will only help. People have to keep recycling and spreading the word to recycle because plastic water bottles won’t cause as much problems as they are right now.
Plastic water bottles are a great convenience when it comes to being on the go and having that easy drink to be at the palm of your hands, but if it is coming with all these environmental and health risks, then are they really worth it? I am one who does drink plastic water bottles daily, but after learning about all the problems they cause, I think I’m going to stop myself from drinking them. We should not be drinking things that could cause us serious problems in the future. After all, it is only water. Even though we might not want to drink from tap water because it doesn’t have the cleaner and purer taste, at the end of the day, it is still better and cheaper for us. Plastic water bottles are only causing trouble to our health and the environment we live in and more people need to start noticing that. I really believe hiring the tax on water bottles can help this problem. This will decrease the sales of them and more people will start going back to drinking tap water, which will better many different things.
Many people may disagree with this, that plastic water bottles should be used still and no tax should be put on them. People enjoy the convenience they provide for their on-the-go activities. Today, people like when things are easy and are at their convenience. Plastic water bottles provide that for them so they will want everything about them to remain the same. They wouldn’t want to go out of their way to find tap water to drink from. People find that the benefits of drinking bottled water are the way they taste, their convenience, and their safety (American Chillers 1-3). Even though all these things are provided by plastic water bottles, they aren’t all true.
The safety of these water bottles isn’t as safe as everyone thinks. They are only causing health problems and environment problems. As stated up in my paper, plastic water bottles cause a serious of future health problems for people. Even though they go through a cleaning process before being sold, they still contain many contaminants. These contaminants lead to many problems. They can cause serious harms for our bodies and affect us for the rest of our lives. Drinking from plastic water bottles shouldn’t cause health problems but in reality, they do. The amount of problems they cause is not okay. They are supposed to be something that is convenient for us and helps our thirst and hydration but in the end they are only causing severe difficulties. The people who drink from plastic water bottles need to be aware of the risks they can cause to their bodies and the environment in which they live in. Matters could only get worse if we keep drinking from these and manufacturing them.
Plastic water bottles are definitely something that everyone uses. They are a major product on the market and always will be. Because of how big they are, it will be hard to get rid of them. The best thing we can do to decrease the problems they are causing is to just recycle and maybe try to switch people to using reusable bottles and drinking tap water. This could definitely help the environment big time. If plastic water bottles are going to be something that stays on the market for a long time, then we need to try our best to fix the problems they are causing. It will be hard but if people start realizing what they are doing then we can fix it. Hopefully one day, people will notice and do something about it. Until then, plastic water bottles are going to still be used daily causing problems for the environment and our health.