Water Bottles: How Necessary Are They?
By Jenn (TinyChoices.com) | March 27, 2008
By now, ya’ll know that one of my personal eco-dilemmas is the black hole that is water bottles (see the “related reading” list at the end of this post for proof, if you dare). Disposables will be the death of us, Nalgenes will be the death of us, aluminum bottles have a “safe” epoxy liner which I question, stainless steel bottles are safe but I feel ridiculous buying yet another water bottle, and my trusty moonshine jug (aka repurposed peanut butter jar) isn’t as watertight as I hoped. So lately I’m flipflopping between the Sigg bottle and the moonshine jug, not thrilled with either but also nearing the point of water bottle overload.
I was discussing this madness with a new friend tonight, and he brought up a really interesting point. Back in the day, aka 5+ years ago, people didn’t really carry water everywhere they went. This is a relatively new phenomenon, the idea that we must have water at our fingertips at all times. People used to just walk to a water fountain when they got thirsty–and I think there used to be more water fountains around to drink from, though this is only a hypothesis (they mostly seem to have gone the way of the semi-extinct public phone)– but now that we’re all dependent on bottled water in its various forms, we’re getting used to paying for water in general, and don’t seem to expect it as a public service as much as we used to. This is dangerous territory, leading directly into the privatization of water, which more often than not is a dark, expensive, mismanaged path.
Also, are we too hyped on hydration these days? Although no one really knows how much water we’re supposed to drink on a daily basis (those 8 glasses per day are just a wild guess), it’s kind of a given that we are all supposed to just keep on drinking water. But remember when you were a kid and you were playing baseball and you got thirsty and you ran off to the water fountain? Or you were in school and between classes and thirsty and so you’d stop at the water fountain? Right… but now, we all have water with us all the time. Personally, water is pretty much all I drink (excluding tea and an occasional adult beverage) and I do like having it with me– if I were to request water during one of my meals-on-the-go that this modern gal partakes in, it would more often than not come in a disposable (paper, plastic or styrofoam) cup– so I can avoid this issue by carrying my own. But you know how some intrepidatious folks are consciously working to remove plastic from their lives? What if we consciously only ate at places which would provide a real glass to drink from? Is this even possible in my crazy life?
Anyway, I’m not real sure where I’m going with this. I do know that the reusable bottle market is flooded with so many various options made from so many various materials. And that, each time we buy another one, the true expense is not what we pay in dollars but the toll on the environment from the production and transportation of said bottle. So the best option is not to buy a new one at all… unless, perhaps, the best option is to just sip from the fountain as we pass by.
Dear Tiny Choosers, what are your thoughts on this?
Related Reading:
- Mason Jars & Further Water Bottle Insanity
- Water Bottles, Again…
- Mountain Equipment Coop Stops Selling Bisphenol-A
- Reusable Water Bottle Options
[Image by Foto Dawg via Creative Commons]
Topics: Food, Health, Waste | 25 Comments »
I just can’t get on the water fountain band wagon – they’ve always grossed me out. Maybe because I live in a big city, and I’ve seen people piss in the fountains in our parks, or maybe its just touching the button that gods know how many people have touched before me.
I’ve been carrying a water bottle with me since high school, back when friends through I was totally weird for drinking water, and not hitting up the pop machine after school. I’ve been carrying the same Nalgene bottle in my bag for 12 years….when you get that kind of use out of one bottle, and avoid purchasing so many more bottles, I’m willing to live with the thick plastic of my Nalgene. And honestly, I think I would be very sad if one day I lost my bottle – it’s become a rather sentimental item, and lived with me in so many places.
Hm. Well, I started carrying a water bottle in something like 1993. Possibly earlier. Back then I’d just refill a bottled water bottle until it got gross, then toss it and buy a new bottle of water to refill. Now I have an aluminum one and a plastic one of indeterminate composition.
I’m not grossed out by water fountains (okay, Jenn S’s pissing story bugs me, but in most places where I can find a fountain, that isn’t an issue) but I am just really thirsty. When I was a kid, water fountains were always about not getting enough to drink. I remember standing there gasping from play and drinking as fast as I could, trying to get enough before someone (the adult that was waiting for me, the kids in line behind me) made me leave. No, I’m not diabetic. Just thirsty.
I totally agree that the disappearance of fountains is a problem, but I’d be carrying either a bottle or a cup even if clean public fountains were on every corner, because I can’t get enough from a fountain.
That’s an alternative, if you really don’t need water all the time. What about a cup? Fill it and sip when you can, and let it ride in your bag when you can’t. A ceramic mug might be pretty durable for carrying around, and you could thrift it so that if it does get broken, you’re not upset.
a friend of mine has been seeing an acupuncturist and was told that she is TOO hydrated – apparently for my friend’s type of metabolism, she has been drinking too much water and her body is retaining it instead of using it or flushing it out. I mean, obviously the 64 oz. of water each per day isn’t really accurate – I’m 5’11″ and I would think I should drink more water than a person who is only 5’2″. but I’d never heard anyone say that they were TOO hydrated before!
I would say that you should carry a cup too – because I can’t drink enough quickly enough from water fountains, and in places like penn station I can’t find them at all, and I’ve had to refill my bottle from the bathroom tap. I would suggest the ultra-cool flatterware cup but it’s made of plastic too.
I’ve heard of overhydrating to the point of making yourself really ill – you can cause a potentially fatal electrolyte imbalance if you drink too much. How much is too much is harder to pin down, but a woman died last summer after participating in a water-drinking contest run by a radio station. I think she drank several gallons in just a few minutes. But I’ve never heard of it on a more minor scale.
Overdrinking is something I definitely think about, because on a typical day I drink between 12 & 15 eight-ounce glasses of water, and I’m not a particularly big person.
Brilliant post. You’re absolutely right…the lowly water fountain needs a rebirth. Do you remember people lining up to use the water fountain?
Hey Lynn! I do remember lining up to get a drink at a water fountain… and never having enough time to drink cause everyone behind me was so thirsty too… and thus always walking away kind of thirsty, still. Good times!
I’ve been doing without a water bottle. I bought a Sigg, but then my boyfriend lost it. I was using a Grolsch bottle as a water bottle for a while, which was great, but then I lost that too. Since I was too lazy to buy another Grolsch, I’ve just been doing without. It’s fine. I am not one of those people who needs a drink RIGHT NOW when I’m thirsty (aka my boyfriend, who will buy a water bottle even if he is going to be somewhere in 10-30 minutes where he can get a glass of water i hate him sometimes!). just deal with the thirst and learn some patience people!
Hey Julia! I love the Grolsch idea– not so much for the beer (never tried it) but it’s a GREAT sturdy bottle, and I think that seal-part is rubber? Looks like it, anyway.
yeah i think it is rubber. ideally my water container would no plastic at all but this was a good way to go. i like the POM suggestion below too, my roommate drinks that and usually saves the glass but throws away the cap, but next time i’ll take it for myself.
With the whole water-bottle conundrum I have found the best solution to be a glass container that is designed for holding liquids (re: the peanut butter jar that leaks). My roommate sometimes buys a POM tea drink that comes in a great glass jar, which I then ‘borrow’ to cart around water, tea etc. Without the lid, it looks like a water glass. I have run it through the dishwasher several times after much use and the seal holds up. Also the glass is thick enough to avoid any breakage issues when I chuck my backpack in my bike basket.
As far as the revival of the water fountain, I couldn’t agree with you more. On my campus there are more pop machines that water fountains. Scary!
Hey Stepho! Wow, my roommate drinks those POM teas too, and keeps all the glasses. I’ll ask her if I can test one out. So, that cap won’t just pop off in my bag? Since it doesn’t thread on, I’m a little wary…
Hey Jenn,
No lid popping problems so far! I do try and keep it upright in my bag although it usually ends up upside down or sideways. There are massive pot holes in Halifax which give my bag a good shake up when I’m cycling around. I can understand your apprehension, but give it a shot and let me know. (The big plus for me is that we already have these in the house, so no guilt-ridden Sigg purchase required.)
The Pom glass idea is brilliant. Next time I buy one, I’ll try that (I’ve already thrown out the caps on the ones I already have.)
I also have pretty much always carried water around with me — got some odd looks when I was a kid with a blanket-sided metal canteen. I remember looking at the metal bottles for campstove fuel and wishing there were some for water. Now that there are I find my consumerism kicking into high gear. I have Sigg bottles – classic and oval – and Metro Mugs, Klean Kanteens, thermal tea mugs with screened lids. Sigg just released a retro oval flask with a metal swing top that has me asking for an intervention from friends.
I do use them all. I’m like the thirsty person above and I like to have water wherever I go but the liter size one in my car is too heavy for my bag and on and on.
I like the empty-cup idea although I’d still like to keep water in the car. There are metal collapsible cups but they are pretty heavy.
And I still use plastic containers – Platypus are so light and don’t get gross like reusing bottled water bottles, and I haven’t completely given up on Nalgene although I don’t store water in them for extended periods.
It’s a connundrum.
I LOVE THE SIGG RETRO FLASK. so very very much. but I’m not allowing myself to purchase it. but it is SO CUTE. it’s hard to practice restraint like this!
I still remember, as a small child, hating our governor because my mother told me he was responsible for turning off all the water fountains in my favorite park. Curse you, Gov. Schaefer! (I still don’t like the guy.)
A gym teacher once said to me, “If you’re thirsty, it’s already too late.” Although I’m not science-minded enough to find out what’s behind that maxim, I have been taking it to heart lately and trying to “drink proactively.” There will always be things that make me especially thirsty (running, eating salty foods) but I find that if I drink throughout the day, I don’t necessarily need to take the plastic cup of water during lunch.
Honestly, I think a lot of our “water addiction” is in our heads. Until very recently I rarely had a water bottle with me, and I never once died of thirst. But if I start thinking about the fact that I don’t have a water bottle, I’ll become thirsty. And usually a quick slurp at the water fountain will satisfy me – which is proof that it’s not really about the fact that I’m not hydrated, as much as that I’m experiencing some sort of primal fear that I won’t have water when I need it. Knowing that there’s water nearby assuages that fear.
On a different note, I love Stepho’s idea of the Pom tea glasses – I’ve seen ads for them around town, but since I don’t like iced tea I didn’t pay much mind. Now I think I might buy one just for the glass!
I couldn’t even make myself drink from water fountains when i was little and back then had no idea chlorine was in the water… i did know that everyone in New Orleans drank bottled water (I am 30 years old now), that tap water was “bad”. I have to say, it kinda stinks that water is everywhere but not always drinkable. I am addicted to Figi Bottled Water, because it is one of the few bottled waters that doesn’t blast their water with Ozone to kill bacteria. Because of health problems I have to be careful not to drink filtered city water, because traces of chlorine are there and can make me very sick. But really, for the environment WELL filtered tap & your own stainless steal bottle is perfect. I don’t really think we are all that addicted to water, in this modern time there’s alot of stress & toxins which make us need to flush with water more frequently (or so my inner scientist thinks ;) ).
For anyone looking for a good alternative to bottled water who doesn’t want an aluminum bottle, or a stainless steel bottle or a Nalgene bottle, I have the solution for you:
I am the owner of Tap Into The City, a new green business in NYC that is launching a grassroots campaign to promote New York City tap water. Last December we launched the NYC H2O sports bottle to encourage residents and visitors to choose New York City tap water over bottled water.
Unlike other popular sports bottles on the market, the NYC H2O sports bottle is made from safe, non-leaching HDPE plastic. There has been a growing concern that popular polycarbonate plastic bottles, often known by the brand Nalgene, can leach Bisphenol-A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical. NYC H2O sports bottles are free from this harmful industrial chemical. What’s more, NYC H2O sports bottles are made from 85-100% recycled milk jugs.
In addition, the NYC H2O sports bottle comes with educational information about New York City tap water and the carbon footprint that results from consuming single-use plastic water bottles.
The bottle is currently for sale at the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit: Water: H2O = Life (in the gift shop) and online at: http://www.tapintothecity.com.
Soon we will be coming out with a more generic bottle that can be used outside of New York City. Our objective is to raise awareness about the healthful and environmental benefits of drinking local tap water, as well as the carbon footprint that results from consuming bottled water.
Take a look at our website http://www.tapintothecity.com. It has many useful links about New York City water, calculating carbon and water footprints, and how to determine what plastics are safe.
sandy! that is just awesome!!!
as part of the team that helped design the currently-under-contruction new disinfection facility for NYC water – i am so psyched to hear of an initiative that is pushing this water! :) my only secret/selfish fear is that this new water will change the taste of the famous NYC pizza slice … there are rumors.
The bagels! What about the bagels?!
The glass bottle that Fuze tea comes in is durable and doesn’t leak. I’ve reused mine for months!
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See I never drink enough, of anything. Pretty much all of my doctors have always told me that I was either on the verge of deyhdration, or was mostly dehydrated. I just don’t care for drinking, I guess? It’s weird, but I never have been able to finish sodas, drinks in resturants, and I always leave half empty glasses everywhere I go. Compared to my husband, who can drink a 24 oz glass in one gulp, I am the freaking sahara. (I also hate to search out bathrooms, and combined with my ginormous bladder capacity, I am awesome on long car trips)
This also means that I often get queasy when that borderline dehydration line that I walk turns into actual dehydration. So I’ve been trying to get a lot better about things by carrying around a water bottle. For me, it’s the only way I ever remember to drink water.
I also get motion sick pretty easily, and with commuting on the train, and occasionaly the bus, I really need to have water with me most of the time.
Shockingly, I’ve found the water fountains in Penn Station! In the upstairs part of the NJ Transit waiting room, by the bathrooms (the placement of them squicks me out though).
I hang out with my 4 year old all day and I can’t stand giant bags filled with every possible fix for every possible problem ever so I gave up carrying bottled water. The two of us started using drinking fountains. They are everywhere, playgrounds, malls, libraries, grocery stores, even at the swimming pool. It’s been really fun teaching my kid how to use it and watching her grow big enough to reach the button herself.
As for germs, as long as you don’t put your lips on it, you aren’t getting anything different than what you are getting from the faucet at your local diner.
Viva la Fountains! It lightens my load.
[...] along, and are absolutely about to perish from dehydration. At those times we might look for a water fountain to sate our thirst, or ask for a glass of water from a restaurant, or just cup our hand underneath [...]