by Carly Foubert, CFICE Communications RA
Back again! Today, let’s talk about reducing waste by using reusable water bottles. I’m sure we’ve all heard that drinking about 8 glasses of water daily is optimal for staying hydrated and healthy. That’s about 2 litres, or 3 regular sized plastic water bottles daily! And if you were to drink this amount from plastic water bottles every day for a year, you’d be contributing over one thousand bottles to landfills annually, and that’s just for one person! Globally, about $100 billion annually is spent on bottled water, which means there are a lot more plastic bottles ending up in landfills than just what you’ve contributed.
You could make the argument that plastic is recyclable but you’d be missing the point because studies show that 80% of recyclable plastic ends up in landfills annually. With 100 million tonnes of plastic produced each year, it’s estimated that at least 10% ends up in the ocean.
Trash in the ocean drastically affects marine life. We’ve seen the horror stories of animals trapped in plastic wrappings and bags and mistaking plastic for food. So let’s do all we can to reduce the amount of plastic we produce, starting with fulfilling a basic human need with a reusable water bottle.
Are you worried about finishing your water bottle, not being able to refill it, and getting thirsty and dehydrated? Don’t be! There are plenty of water fountains around. There are even apps for finding and mapping water fountains in cities, so you’re in luck even if you’re not familiar with the area.
So today, let’s stay hydrated and take the initiative to use those reusable water bottles.