Detail at actual size: Plastic Bottles, 2007 by Chris Jordan

The photo above is by Chris Jordan. It is a close up of a photo that “depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.”

Why are plastic bottles in the news anyway?
Plastic bottles are everywhere in today’s society, but they were not just a few decades ago. Bottled water is an very popular product worldwide which is extraordinary considering bottled water as we know today didn’t exist as a product 30-40 years ago.

What’s wrong with plastic bottles?
They are everywhere now and don’t seem to be hurting anyone but their impact can be felt in many ways. Making the plastic bottle requires pollution producing energy. So does the rest of the packaging, shipping, shipping packaging and recycling. Many plastic bottles don’t end up recycled. Instead they are thrown in the garbage or somehow end up in the ocean, and even in the fish we eat. On top of that some plastic bottles contain harmful chemicals called BPA that leaves the bottles and gets into your drink.

What do these harmful chemicals do?
BPA or bisphenol A is considered an is an endocrine disruptor, meaning it messes up your hormones may be the cause of abnormal sexual development or even learning disabilities. This is of great concern for babies because BPA was found in many baby bottles.

Are there plastic containers I can safely drink out of?
A number of companies now produce plastic bottles that have no BPA and don’t contain those same harmful chemicals that will leach into your drink.

What else can I drink out of?
For years humans drank from ceramic, metal and glass containers. There is a feeling among many that people should return to drinking from containers made of these materials.

Be Sociable, Share!

•