Did you know? The U.S. alone uses nearly 50 million plastic water bottles each year. The majority of these end up in waterways or landfills and are a major contributor to stormwater pollution and negative environmental effects. All we need to do to solve this issue is simply use less plastic water bottles and the biggest step you can take is to opt for a reusable water bottle.
If that doesn’t convince you, here are five more reasons why you should make the switch:
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Plastic water bottles pollute our oceans and waterways.
Yes this one is obvious, but plastic bottles are one of the top littered items in our oceans and waterways. Plastic litter on beaches and river banks are unfortunately something we’re all very used to seeing, but even landfill liners can leak harmful pollutants into the watershed. The more people choose to use reusable water bottles instead, the more we can work to reduce that pollution.
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“Recyclable” plastic water bottles don’t get recycled as often as you think.
Of the plastic water bottles purchased in the U.S., only 23% are recycled. The rest end up in landfills or as pollution. To add to that, 32% of plastic packaging produced each year ends up in the ocean, which is the approximate equivalent of dumping a garbage truck full of plastic every minute.
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Because this problem won’t solve itself, we need to take action.
The rate of plastic bottle pollution reaching our oceans is expected to increase to two garbage trucks per minute by 2030 and four garbage trucks per minute by 2050. By 2050, this could mean there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans.
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YOU can help spare the planet from over 150 water bottles a year.
You read that right – the average person uses 13 plastic water bottles a month. By opting for a reusable water bottle, you personally can help cut down on plastic water bottle use by an approximate 156 bottles – every single year. Worth it? Absolutely.
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You’ll save money.
It’s estimated that a $20 reusable water bottle will save you $6,180 in five years.
*Statistics from sandiego.surfrider.org
Ready to get on board with Project Clean Water? If you haven’t already, take our 52 Ways to Love Your Water Pledge and join us in taking simple, weekly actions to reduce stormwater pollution.
