Recycling a ton of glass saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil. The truth about bottled water, including quality, regulation, environmental impact, and more. Take a look at the products and at the other materials we studied. Alternative policies to increase recycling of plastic water bottles in. Plastic water bottles should no longer be a wasted resource. The many benefits of recycling plastic you ought to know. Pdf how consumers of plastic water bottles are responding to. One of the important environmental benefits of recycling plastic bags and bottles is that, it saves animals, birds, and a wide range of aquatic creatures from death due to ingestion of plastic. The fact that under mandatory recycling regimes, 86 percent of. Information is an essential requirement for the development. As a result, the recycling of materials is now a growing industry in many parts of the world. The uk produces more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year, one tonne is about the weight of a small car. Water recycling fact sheet australias leading water. Reusing 1 glass bottle will prevent the purchase and consumption of more than 240 plastic bottles every year.
Sep 19, 2017 nonetheless, the sales and volume of bottled water in the united states is staggering. Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making plastic from raw materials. Making water bottles in america uses about 17 million barrels of oil each year, and the tens of billions of plastic bottles produced are mostly not recycled. This not only helps save the environment, but also helps save money in the long run. Mar 06, 2016 the plastic water bottle market in the united states is worth billions of dollars annually. Bottled water and tap water international bottled water. According to the container recycling institute, americans bought 42. Flakes are then melted into pellets, then transported to a manufacturer to make new plastic bottlesjugs or other products, such as lining for sleeping bags, tshirts, carpet, or playground equipment.
Instead of buying packages of bottled water, you can buy a single reusable bottle to reuse over and over again. The recycling rate of various plastic items such as plastic bags and bottles is slight. This means that a shocking 80% of bottles end up in the dump, being incinerated, or discarded in nature. If there isnt a recycling bin, throw it in the trash can. The chasing arrows indicate the three steps of recycling.
Find useful information in a list of bottle water facts. More waste facts every year the average australian family produces enough rubbish to fill a threebedroom house, producing about 2. This newlycreated material is called recycled plastic or rpet in the case of recycled pet. Out of the tens of billions produced, 20 billion bottles are sent to landfills. Mar 24, 2019 if you are unable to get a reusable water bottle for whatever reason, or if you forget it once in a while, make sure that you dispose of plastic bottles properly. Us national postcomsumer plastic bottle recycling report. Glass is found in municipal solid waste msw, primarily in the form of containers such as beer and. However, plastic water bottle recycling has achieved greater. Download the report pdf,542kb the truth about bottled water.
A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. While the weight of recycled plastic has grown for 25 years, so has the population in the united states. Just the facts drinking water research foundation october, 2011 page 7 2. This web page contains materialspecific information and data on glass. So, before cracking open the cap of a new water bottle, consider quenching your thirst using a reusable water bottle instead. Jun, 2017 you can lessen detrimental effects on the environment by conserving water, fuel and energy. Oct 10, 2019 plastic recycling has become an increasingly important sector of recycling, but it would be hard to declare it a great success story from an environmental perspective. About 20 billion plastic water bottles wind up in landfills each year or are incinerated. On average, how many aluminum soda cans are used in the united states each year. The facts on why recycling makes sense for you and your community. Over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans are used every year. According to the epa, about 30% of recyclable plastic bottles and jars were actually recycled in 2015. Ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle your plastic containers. Finding creative ways to turn a used product into a new item of equal or greater value is sometimes called upcycling.
Cris page on bottled water, which was set up in honor of national drinking water month in may 2005, contains several useful articles on plastic water bottle wastage and recycling, and links to sites explaining alternatives to drinking bottled water. Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. In fact, only about 1 in 5 ever make it to a recycling plant. This study is a cooperative effort between the plastics division. Recycling plastic bottles decreases the need for raw.
One way to reduce our usage of bottled water is to use a reusable water bottle. Resource conservation recycling plastic water bottles helps to conserve natural resources, specifically oil, which is a nonrenewable natural resource available only in limited supply. Many other parts of the world are recycling water on a scale that dwarfs australia. Recycling plastic water bottles helps to conserve space that can be used for other waste. Ocean plastic and plastic shopping bags still present major global challenges. Sharing these plastic water bottle facts will hopefully inform even more people about the importance of recycling and avoiding plastic water bottles. While overall the amount of recycled plastics is relatively small3. Driving pet bottle recycling efficiency nestle waters. Bottled water, tap water and homeoffice delivery water a study by the oregon department of environmental quality that shows that tap water is a far better environmental choice than recycling singleuse bottles. Pdf although plastic induces environmental damages, almost all water. Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times. Apr 04, 2018 everyday feminism 5 reasons to break your plastic water bottle habit yes, even if you recycle. These plastic water bottle facts should give a further insight into the damaging effects of plastic water bottles.
Life cycle assessment of drinking water delivery systems. Executive summary the information presented in this report supports the fact that drinking water, whether from the tap or a bottle, is generally safe, and that regulatory requirements for both tap water and bottled water provide americans with. Contact your city or county government to find out about recycling programs or facilities near you. Kids harness plastic waste for water filtration in african slum. Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making it from raw materials. States with container deposit legislation have an average glass container recycling rate of just over 63%, while nondeposit states only reach about 24%, according to the container recycling institute. Recycling facts environmental center university of. The rings from bottle necks and sixpack holders need. Measured by percentage of generation, products with the highest recovery rates in 20 were leadacid batteries 99 percent, corrugated boxes 88. To make the annual demand of water bottles in the u. Read this guide and discover lots of information on recycling, including games, word searches, and recycled craft ideas.
If we recycled the other 75% we could save 1 billion gallons of oil. Recycling can also help reduce the number of plastic water bottles that end up as litter in roadways and water sources. After drinking bottled water, make sure that the leftover plastic bottle goes into the recycling bin. It takes 95% less energy to recycle an aluminum can then it does to manufacture a new one. The reasons for eliminating bottled water from the university by richard.
Recoups uk household plastics collection survey 2014 confirmed that nearly 60% of pet plastic bottles in the household waste stream are now being collected for recycling in 2001 this figure was just 3%. Facts on plastic bottles and bottled water bottlesup glass. The effect of recycling plastic water bottles on the. Prepare steel cans for recycling by rinsing them with water to remove any food residue. Recycling and waste reduction a guide for the workplace.
The chemicals in plastic can also pollute the soil as well as water. Here are three popular myths about recycling plastic bottles, along with an explanation of the real deal. Facts about tap water vs bottled the bottled water competes with a variety of other cold beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, milk, juices, soya beverages, energy drinks, and sport drinks and to a lesser extent with hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate, and low alcohol wine. Plastic water bottles can be purchased just about everywhere and they are quite convenient, but there are many problems associated with them. In fact, when you become aware of the problems and how many there are, you may never buy another bottle of water. The water project making a clear choice ban the bottle bottled water facts one green planet is it really worth the convenience. Recycling offers a host of environmental, economic, and social benefits. What percentage of monetary purchasing goes to packaging materials.
Here are 10 facts about bottled water that led us to make the important decision to leave it off the shelves during our film festival. Download coloring pages to learn more about recycling plastics young kids can colorand connect the dotsand create a. In less than two hours, the waste we produce would fill the albert hall in london, every eight months it would fill lake windermere, the largest and deepest lake in england. Most of the plastic bottles are thrown in the trash and end up in landfills. Singapore is leading the worlds technology for water recycling. By reusing plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans, americans not only protect the environment, they reduce their carbon footprint while building conservation and stewardship behaviors. Check out how kids took their plastic bottles that were being thrown away and turned them into something amazing. Considering these facts, the obvious question is, why do americans drink so much.
Recycled pet rpet plastic can be made into bottles, clamshell food. Since glass does not degrade, a bottle thrown in a landfill today would still be around in the year 3000. Whether youre 5 or 15, kids can make a difference by recycling more plastics and other stuff. Beverage container deposit systems provide 11 to 38 times more direct jobs than curbside recycling systems for beverage containers.
Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year. As a small island that doesnt have natural aquifers and lakes and with little land to collect rainwater, singapore must maximise the water it can harvest. Jan 20, 2017 although recycling programs are widespread, a mere 23 percent of disposable water bottles are actually recycled. It doesnt matter how big you are or how old you are. The recycling symbol, also know as the mobius loop, can be found on products that are recyclable. Here are 15 facts and statistics that are worth keeping in mind.
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