Last year, my New Year’s resolution to stop drinking bottled water was not my most successful—it took about a month for me to stop stupidly forgetting my reusable bottle at home on rough post-drinking mornings. Things happen, and sometimes even the most environmentally aware of us will slip up and be really, reaaaallly thirsty.
There are plenty of reasons we all should avoid relying on bottled water: for one, plastic bottles are (environmentally speaking) one of the most harmful inventions Mother Earth has ever seen.
Not only are some types of bottles made out of plastic that isn’t even recyclable, the production and transportation of them requires massive fossil fuel resources. According to The Water Project, “it takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to meet the demand of US water manufacturing.”
Less than 20% of disposable bottles are recycled, and the other 80+% is either taking space in landfills, where harmful chemicals can leach into water supplies, or being littered somewhere on our planet. To make matters worse, it takes around 1,000 years for a water bottle found in a landfill to begin the decomposition process.
Even more disconcerting is the fact that plastic bottles oftentimes contain chemicals such as BPA and phthalates that are known endocrine disrupotors. These chemicals are linked to serious health problems, including reproductive and fertility issues and cancer ( you can learn more about the risks associated with plastic water bottles here).
According to the Boxed Water website, “Boxed Water is a sustainable water company that is changing the way water is sold, shipped, and consumed.” The company’s mission is to provide the convenience of bottled water in a safer and more environmentally friendly way.
On the way to the water-filling plant, the boxes (which are 100% recyclable) are packed flat, which increases shipping efficiency by 26 times. And, as 76% of the packaging is made from paper, consumers have far fewer chances of being exposed to the dangerous chemicals contained in plastic bottles.
While I’m still a huge fan of my reusable water bottle, and think everyone should have and use one, I think it would be great to see Boxed Water available at convenience stores or around campus for those days when people forget their bottle at home. Any small step we can do to reduce our environmental impact is a step in the right direction. Peace, love, Mother Nature.