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Switch to a reusable water bottle

All Practically Green: 2,417 or so people have DONE this action so far.

All Practically Green: 121 or so people have ADDED this to their action plan so far.

Why is "Switch to a reusable water bottle" green?

Oh, where to start. Let's go with a few facts:

Waste: More than 40 billion single use plastic water bottles will be sold this year in the United States alone (some organizations say this figure is higher), and more than 80 percent of those will end up being littered or trashed, not recycled. Which is why we have a plastic garbage patch the size of Texas in the ocean.

Energy: Those bottles require over 17 million barrels of oil for manufacturing alone. That's enough petroleum to power 620,000 automobiles a year. This doesn’t include the energy it takes to transport bottled water to consumers, or bottles made from natural gas.

Health: Ironically bottled water isn't nearly as regulated as tap water. And certain plastics leach bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor, into liquids.

Money: Bottled water costs up to 1900 times more than tap.

Whether you are motivated by waste reduction, saving energy, personal health, saving money, or all of the above, switching to a reusable water bottle makes a considerable difference.

How to: Switch to a reusable water bottle

Buy reusable water bottles and fill them with tap.

Consider the materials of the reusable bottle. You want something durable and that can be easily washed. Stainless steel and glass are safe and can be put in the dishwasher. Be wary of unsafe plastics and lined metal bottles; the lining can sometimes contain BPA.

If you’re concerned about contaminants in your water or don’t like the taste of what’s running from your taps, install a filter.

  • Klean Kanteen Insulated Water Bottle
    • (0 Ratings)

    These stainless steel bottles are available in a variety of colors (including just plain stainless), sizes, and cap styles (including a plastic-free one). Klean Kanteen states their bottles are BPA-free. Keep drinks hot or cold on your commute with this insulated version.

  • Water Bottle Stick Ice Cube Tray
    • (0 Ratings)

    Put an end to the small-mouth versus the ice cube water bottle debate with these skinny ice cube molds. They are designed to squeeze through bottle-necks of all sizes so you can enjoy cold beverages on the go. Hint: place on a rigid freezer-proof tray before freezing to avoid spillage.

  • Kor Vida Water Bottle
    • (0 Ratings)

    The body of the KOR Aura is made of tapered 18/8 stainless steel. The spout and cap are both made from BPA-free polypropylene with a food grade silicone seal in the cap. All of these materials are BPA-free and phthalate-free.

  • Aquaovo Therm-O Terra
    • (0 Ratings)

    Tea drinkers rejoice! This eye-catching travel mug comes with a removable strainer prefect for loose leaf teas. Eco-thermal double paned glass walls keep hot beverages hot, cold beverages cold and your hands--just right. Form and function in one beautiful package.

  • Kleen Kanteen Water Bottles
    • (7 Ratings)

    Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottles are available in a variety of colors (including just plain stainless), sizes, and cap styles (including a plastic-free one). They say the plastic tops are BPA-free. Cold water lovers will appreciate the wide-mouth openings on these bottles--plenty big for ice cubes.

  • Thermos Nissan Vacuum-Insulated Hydration Bottle
    • (2 Ratings)

    The thermax double-wall vacuum insulation keep drinks cold for up to twelve hours, so you'll always have a cold drink on-hand. And it's sweat-proof which keeps paper, tables and laptops safe from drips.

  • Bobble BPA-free Water Bottle
    • (4 Ratings)

    When traveling, you don’t always know how safe the local tap water is. But you do know tap in a reusable bottle is eco-friendlier than bottled water. Thankfully Bobble's unique design--made of recycled PET--features an integrated filtering system. Problem solved.

  • Hydro Flask Stainless Steel Insulated Drinking Bottle
    • (2 Ratings)

    Their patent-pending vacuum design keeps hot liquids hot without burning your fingers and cold liquids cold without sweating. Hydroflask says their stainless steel insulating water bottles are completely safe and BPA free.

  • Earthlust Stainless Steel Water Bottles
    • (2 Ratings)

    EarthLust has a cool collection of custom designed water bottles, which, they say, are hand made from high quality, food grade stainless steel, painted with non-toxic paints and capped with a BPA-free top. The hard part is deciding which one to get!

  • Vapur 0.5 Litres Anti-Bottle
    • (1 Rating)

    The ultimate in portability, this fold-and-go 'anti-bottle' is reusable, lightweight, BPA-free, and packs flat when empty. Plus, you can pop them in the freezer, so they'll be at the ready when you need to grab a drink for the road.