Ways To Combat The World's Plastic Bottle Crisis 

The urge for people to fight the current plastic water bottle crisis has never been greater with the average American’s expenditure on drinking bottled water reaching around $1,400 a year. Furthermore, argue environmentalists, the transportation and distribution of bottled water requires massive amounts of oil and energy which results in no corner of the globe being safe from the devastating impact this has. While many of us aim to recycle and limit our waste in order to help close the plastic loop, much of our bottle waste gets exported to more underdeveloped countries who are left dealing with the remains of global plastic bottle consumption. To protect our global waterways from the tons of plastic debris, the best route to take is not to buy plastic bottles in the first place.

Change water habits

Our thirst for water and its effects on climate change on farmers from America to Africa have had a huge impact on how we are consuming plastic bottles, the majority of which has no significant nutritional advantage over tap water. Already, as many as three in ten people don't have access to safe water to drink so we all have a role to play in lessening the combined waste of water and plastic by finding alternatives for producing water at home. One way to do this is investing in a whole house water filters which not only provides us with cleaner water but reduces our water consumption in relation to other appliances too while excellent alternative solutions to stop the plastic water bottle crisis.

Clean up your act

Our insatiable thirst for bottled water is drastically slowing down the plastic water bottle crisis, particularly when it can take as many as 450 years for one plastic bottle to completely degrade. Unfortunately, most of the plastic generated globally never gets recycled or incinerated which leaves billions of tiny particles reaching and damaging third world communities, our ecosystem, and eventually our food supply. The growing burden of harmful plastic components can be avoided by reusing water or using vessels from recyclable materials.

Get active

Immediate help is needed on improving waste management systems in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, whose waste infrastructure needs investment. Twice as much water is used during the process of plastic bottle production than the water contained in a bottle itself. With the rise of governmental and nonprofit initiatives aiming to eliminate the problem, showing support for social enterprises and for innovative goods that promote the reduction of plastic bottle waste while having an impact on the lives of others is vital to helping achieve a solution.  

Taking action for reducing our use of plastic in the first place will go a long way to ensuring a positive legacy for future generations to live in a world without plastic bottle consumption.