Ohelo | Environmental
How many plastic water bottles are used in the USA every year?
We all know it’s time to banish single use plastic water bottles to the history books. Right?
PET water bottles, if sent for recycling, can only be recycled a couple of times before the material degrades too much and is unable to be reused. Essentially it is downcycled.
If not sent for recycling, PET water bottles can take hundreds of years to decompose, while still leaving microplastics behind.
But how big is the problem?
How many of these single use water bottles are being used in the USA?
Single use plastics in numbers
• Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute.
• 50 billion single use plastic bottles are bought every year in the USA
• Less than 30% of single use plastic bottles are currently recycled in the USA
• 35,000,000,000 single use plastic water bottles are sent to landfill or incinerated every year in the USA
• 156 is the average number of single use plastic water bottles used by each American every year
• Recycling rates of single use plastic bottles varies widely state to state. In Maine, 75% PET water bottles are recycled whereas in Alaska, Tennessee and West Virginia only 3% of PET water bottles are recycled.
• The USA is the biggest generator of plastic waste in the world.
• Plastic bottle caps were the 2nd most common waste item found on beaches in the USA, after cigarette butts. Plastic drinks bottles were 4th most common.
• The Mississippi river drains 40% of the continental USA into the ocean. The Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative has shown more than 74% of waste in the Mississippi river is plastic. Drinks bottles were the 2nd most common waste item logged in a survey of the Mississippi river delta.
• More single use water bottles are sold each year in the USA than in any other country in the world. It is the biggest consumer of bottled water.
A Carbon footprint comparison
Most single use plastic water bottles are made from PET. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate and it is a light flexible plastic that does not decompose easily (we will come to that next).
An average 500ml / 17oz single use plastic water bottle made from PET has a carbon footprint equal to 0.081kg of CO2.
We can compare this with a reusable Ohelo water bottle. Our insulated Ohelo bottles have a carbon footprint of 1.62kg CO2 – this is the same as 20 single use bottles.
After 20 uses you will have lowered your carbon footprint by switching to an Ohelo reusable water bottle. Given an Ohelo bottle will last you years it is easy to see how it helps you lower your carbon footprint.
How long does it take for a single use PET water bottle to decompose
As mentioned earlier, PET does not decompose easily. In fact, it takes around 450 years for a single use PET water bottle to decompose. Even then, there will be microplastics left behind. Microplastics are a major plastic pollution problem. Found in the most remote areas of the world. In the food we eat and the water we drink.
All of the plastic ever made still exists today. Our dependence on single use plastics has to stop!
How many single use plastic water bottles are being used in the USA?
In the USA, it is estimated that 50 billion single use plastic water bottles are bought every year.
Let’s break that down:
• Every day 136,986,301 single use water bottles are used in the USA.
• Every hour 5,707,763 single use water bottles are used in the USA.
• Every minute 95,129 single use water bottles are used in the USA.
Estimates suggest less than 30% of single use plastic bottles are currently recycled in the USA. This means more than 35,000,000,000 single use plastic water bottles are sent to landfill or incinerated every year in the USA.
Breaking that down:
• Every day 95,890,411 single use plastic water bottles are littered, landfilled or incinerated in the USA.
• Every hour 3,995,434 single use plastic water bottles are littered, landfilled or incinerated in the USA.
• Every minute 66,591 single use plastic water bottles are littered, landfilled or incinerated in the USA.
It is estimated that each American uses an average of 156 single use plastic water bottles every year. That is a carbon footprint of 12.64kg per American. It is 109 single use water bottles not recycled but treated as waste per American.
With a simple swap to an Ohelo reusable water bottle, in the 1st year alone each American would reduce their carbon footprint by 11.02kg. Every year after that would be a carbon footprint reduction of 12.64kg.
There are enough single use plastic water bottles used in the USA each year to wrap around the world 299 times! What’s worse, the single use bottles used in the USA but not recycled will still stretch around the Earth 210 times.
The environmental cost
• Research suggests that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish on our oceans.
• Plastic accounts for 85% of all marine waste.
• Globally it is estimated that 52% of all sea turtles have eaten some plastic. Research suggests that a single piece of plastic may result in death for 1 in every 5 turtles. For sea turtles that eat 14 pieces of plastic the risk of death is raised to 50%.
• A recent study found that a quarter of fish at markets in California had plastic in their digestive systems.
• As well as the major problem single use water bottles create, at least 100,000 marine animals die from plastic entanglement each year from other plastic debris in the oceans.
• The USA is the biggest generator of plastic waste in the world.
• Studies suggest that the USA is 3rd – 12th largest contributor of plastic waste into the coastal environment.
• Plastic bottle caps were the 2nd most common waste item found on beaches in the USA, after cigarette butts also a massive plastic problem). Plastic drinks bottles were 4th most common.
• The Mississippi river drains 40% of the continental USA into the ocean. The Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative has shown more than 74% of waste in the Mississippi river is plastic. Drinks bottles were the 2nd most common waste item logged in a survey of the Mississippi river delta.
The financial cost
How much is it costing you to stay hydrated?
In the USA, the average cost of tap water is $0.50 per 1000 litres. Meanwhile, bottled water can vary widely in price, with the average cost of bottled water coming in at $3.20 per litre.
That means on average it is 6400 times more expensive to drink bottled water than tap water in the USA. According to the AWWA (American Water Works Association), bottled water can be up to 10,000 times more expensive than tap water in the USA.
Investing in a good quality reusable water bottle, like an Ohelo bottle, that can last you years, can thus actually help you to save money in the long term.
Simple swaps can make a difference
Now that you are armed with more information and statistics, we hope you agree with us that single use bottled water belongs in the history books.
• Opting to use a reusable water bottle is a great way to eliminate unnecessary single use plastic water bottles from your lifestyle. Of course, we recommend our own Ohelo bottle – not only are our bottles insulated to keep your water refreshingly cold, they are also lead free (did you know almost all insulated water bottles still contain toxic lead?) – better for you and the planet. Not only will a stainless steel Ohelo bottle keep you happily hydrated, it will help reduce your carbon footprint, save you money on your water, and is endlessly recyclable so prevents the build-up of more microplastics in our environment.
• Don’t like your tap water? Get yourself a filter jug to keep in your fridge. Top up your reusable bottle from that before you head out.
• Refill at water fountains – if there are not many water fountains in the area where you live consider petitioning local governing bodies for more free water points in your neighbourhood.
• Ask for a refill. Most local coffee shops and cafes will be happy to refill your water bottle for their customers – so after you have stopped for lunch make sure to refill before you go.
Don’t bottle it!
It is not too late to turn the tide on the plastic pollution problem. By choosing reusable bottles instead of single use options, we can stop the flood of single use plastic water bottles, reduce our carbon footprint, save some money and live in a more planet friendly way. Together we can make a difference.
Further References:
7 PET carbon footprint calculation: Materials and the Environment: Eco-Informed Material Choice – Michael F. Ashby
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