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Another source of single use plastic in most households comes from beverage containers. Plastic beverage bottles were the fifth most common item found in the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup. If you are wondering, cigarette butts (plastic filters), food wrappers, straws/stirrers, and plastic cutlery round out the top five. We will touch on three of the five by the end of this week! But getting back to plastic bottles, I think this is an easy group that you can reduce in your home. We’ll touch on drinking beverages outside of the home in the coming weeks.
Today’s Challenge: My first suggestion today is to give up soda, sweetened teas, energy drinks, and other unhealthy beverages sold in plastic bottles. I know you are thinking, “Whoa crazy lady, let’s not get drastic!” So, if you are not in that headspace right now, then let’s just focus on reducing the plastic. If you switch your beverages to aluminum cans you will make a big dent in your plastic use. The advantage of aluminum is that the recycling stream for this product is full circle. What I mean is that aluminum can be recycled over and over and the melted down, raw product is just as good as it was the first time around. That means it is a hot commodity. Every state in America will accept aluminum for recycling and some will even pay you to do it! Aluminum also breaks down differently than plastic, so if it does end up on the side of the road, aluminum is less likely to cause harm to the environment. Plastic on the other hand will likely only be recycled once, if even, since there are so many different types and it is easily contaminated. Also, plastic will slowly break down into tiny microplastics that wreak havoc on the environment.
Find your favorite beverage in aluminum cans or try out one of these other options for getting rid of plastic beverage bottles. If you switch to cans or glass, be sure to put them in the recycle bin after your refreshment!
- Drink water from the tap if you have an uncontaminated source
- For filtered water, find a store with a filling station and use a refillable jug. Or filter at home with a special pitcher or reverse osmosis system
- Try homemade tea or coffee for your caffeine fix
- Switch to a different beverage that is available in cans or glass. Sparkling water, like LaCroix or Klarbrunn, is making a huge comeback with all sorts of interesting flavors
Any other ideas out there from my flavored beverage drinking friends?
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