EnviroHumanImpact

As the average American consumer has moved from drinking so much soda on-the-go to drinking more water, a new problem has emerged: what is to be done with all of the water bottles, once theya re empty?  Well, recycling is one option, although the process of making and recycling bottles (as well as transporting full bottles from factory to user) is highly energy- and fossil fuel-intensive, as well, so many have found another viable option.

How have consumers reacted to the negative environmental effects of rampant one-use bottle use? They have adapted and bought in droves different reusable bottles for refilling in their homes.  Many users choose to use a filter and bottle their own water daily and tote it along with them.  A reusable bottle tends to cost between $6 and $20, depending upon size and brand, so pretty quickly, the initial purchase of the reusable bottle is recouped because the user is no longer buying large cases of water at the store or using vending machines for water needs.  But are reusable plastic bottles safe?

So, is there a lingering danger in all of this? Well, while new bottles are available now, most Nalgene bottles were originally a polycarbonate blend of plastics and polymers.  Ever used a Nalgene reusable water bottle?  I have.  I received one years ago from my University as a gift for some volunteer work and have a new one sitting on my shelf.  Originally, it was great to have and I loved it.  I brought my water with me to class and after graduating, still used it for daily water needs.  These typically run from $8 to $15, depending upon shape and size and place of purchase.

Something smelled amiss. I admit, when I first received my bottle, I smelled the plastic smell, and it worried me.  I washed the bottle thoroughly, believing that I could wash away whatever chemicals might be present.  It concerned me that perhaps a chemical, or several chemicals in my polycarbonate bottle might leak into my water and be carcinogenic.  I continued to use my bottle, even though the smell would come back after the bottle was closed and when you smell a new Nalgene on the shelf of a store, the smell from inside should be a warning to consumers that something is amiss.  I enjoyed using the bottle, though, because it was reusable and it seemed everyone had one — all of us gleefully poisoning ourselves.

Nalgene hits the news (not in a good way). When I saw a story in late 2007 saying that certain stores in Canada were removing the bottles from their stores’ shelves, because of strong concerns about the leaching of endocrine interrupters into water, specifically, bisphenol-A (BPA), which is considered, “toxic,” to humans, I decided to never use my Nalgene bottle for water consumption again.  As recently as April 18, 2008, Wal-Mart decided to remove all baby bottles and Nalgene water bottles containing BPA in both the U.S. and Canada!

While Nalgene now sells polyethylene versions of their products (softer, and less durable than the hard polycarbonate ones), I still am not buying.  Increasingly, studies show that foods stored in plastic or those cooked in or with plastic, are showing signs of chemical residues from those materials, and it never seems to be good news, always seems to be warning of carcinogenic properties (think about melted plastic wrap covering your microwaved foods, for example — hint: use bleach-free waxed paper or a paper towel).

Back to the positive envirohuman impact of using Nalgene bottles: Yes, a Nalgene polycarbonate bottle is “green,” in the sense that it is highly durable, lightweight, reusable, and recyclable.  It reduces peoples’ need for bottles of water shipped from far away places (by trucks and boats using such fuels as diesel and other oil-derived fuels) only to have the containers either thrown away or shipped back off to an energy-intensive recycling process.

The reason I recommend you do not use Nalgene or other plastic bottles: They leach chemicals.  Bisphenol-A has been found to be toxic to humans.  Even for those plastic bottles made of other materials, I am still leary of the potential effects of having my food products in contact with plastic, because research continues to show that chemicals can leach from plastics into what we eat.  Those chemicals are not organic and are potentially toxic, as is the case with Bisphenol-A.  I would rather not take my chances.

There are popular alternatives to Nalgene bottles: Nalgene vs. Sigg Water Bottles. As an aside, my older brother had actually carried a (Switzerland-based) Sigg water bottle, which is a decoratively painted aluminum bottle, lined with brass (and I later found out, lined also with an epoxy).  He had lightly promoted the bottle when he visited, but I had not taken too much more interest than noticing its chic design.

I bought my own Sigg water bottle at Whole Foods for about $20, and though I have my reservations about the epoxy lining, I feel safer knowing that laboratory studies say that there is zero leaching from Sigg bottles, whereas lab studies show much leaching from Nalgene’s polycarbonate water bottles.

I should try to find a bottle that is not epoxy-lined, either.  My Sigg water bottle has such a liner, and though the company is not revealing the proprietary blend of chemicals used, they continue to say that there is no leaching of dangerous chemicals.

CEO of Sigg, Steve Wasik, said on treehugger, “very thorough migration testing in laboratories around the world is conducted regularly and has consistently shown SIGG aluminum bottles to have no presence of lead, phthalates, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Bysphenol A (BPA), Bysphenol B (BPB) or any other chemicals which scientists have deemed as potentially harmful.”

Nalgene has responded to concerns over BPA. While Nalgene says on its site that it is now using, “Tritan” plastic, which is supposed to be BPA-free, who is to say that it is safe for humans?  It is yet another unproven plastic, and much caution is needed when humans are using plastic to store foods and beverages, like water.  At least Nalgene says that it is phasing out its BPA-leaching plastic products, and they are introducing stainless steel options, alongside several plastic ones.

Remember, our objects have an end-of-life.  The polycarbonate bottles of millions of customers will someday either be recycled or thrown away.  I can’t help but feel that the fewer plastics we have to deal with, overall, the better, not because metals are all that much easier to deal with, but simply because plastics seem to be more toxic to our environment and its inhabitants.  Generally, the smaller the concentration of plastics, the better, it seems.

EnviroHumanImpact gives Nalgene plastic bottles of all types, especially the polycarbonate ones, a negative envirohuman impact rating, because of the direct negative impact on human health and potential diseases from the chemicals leached from the bottles into users’ water cancels out the potential environmental savings from the use of a reusable bottle.  There are other, healthier reusuable water bottle options, like stainless steel, glass, or perhaps Sigg water bottles.

Hi!  Tell us what kind of water bottle you use, why you use it, and what concerns you have about water bottles!

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