As if people needed more reasons to dump bottled water, this report by the Environmental Working Group on Bottled Water should be the extra push that some need.

The are so many reasons to leave bottled water on the shelf:

1. Out of the 60 billion PET containers used each year only about 28% of those were recycled (Container Recycling Institute)

2. Plastic waste is found everywhere on the planet, including the ocean

3. Plastic does not biodegrade, but photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, which are then consumed by animals

4. Bottled water is expensive, costing up 100 billion a year for the U.S. alone (OneWorld.net)

5. Tap water is more closely regulated than bottled water by the Environmental Protection Agency

6. A reusable stainless steel water bottle won’t leach chemicals, even when left in a hot car

7. Home water purification systems cost pennies on the dollar compared to bottled water (Natural Resources Defense Council)

8. Bottled water uses between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil to bottle and ship in the U.S. alone (Live Science).

Do yourself, your wallet, oil reserves, animals and the planet a favor and leave the bottled water on the shelf.  Invest in reusable, quality water bottles.  There are many styles and materials to choose from: stainless steel, glass, nylon, aluminum and BPA-free plastic.  I  keep a bottle in my car that I fill as needed.  Each member of my family has at least one water bottle.

Photo courtesy of Reuseit

Reusable water bottles are everywhere now; local grocery stores, national chain stores, eco-stores and online stores.  In Eau Claire I can find reusable water bottles at Mother Natures’s Foods, Little Bare Bottoms, Festival Foods, Target, Scheels etc…  Online I can find them at Reuseit, GreenFeet, Amazon, EcoBags, Uncommon Goods, etc…  There is NO reason not to buy a reusable water bottle anymore, and there is a long list of reasons to NOT buy bottled water.  Make the change.