Why you need to buy a reusable bottle ASAP

Bottled water is one of the easiest single-use plastics that we can cut out of our lives. In the UK we use 38.5 million of them a day, and only recycle around half of them. That's a lot of disposable plastic that only gets used for a few hours but will be around forever.

Scarily though, recent research suggests that environmental damage isn't the only reason we should be ditching plastic water bottles, as this supposedly pure water could also be damaging our health. The study, conducted at the State University of New York by Orb Media, tested water from 11 different brands purchased in 9 different countries, and found that 93% contained microplastics. It's not clear exactly how the plastic gets into this water, whether it's already there at source or enters during the manufacturing or bottling process, but such results are alarming. The thing is, though many plastic manufacturers will jump to defend such microplastics as non-toxic, we really don't know the affect that they have on our health. Because we are globally only recently becoming aware that microplastics are a major issue, there hasn't been enough research conducted in this area to provide us with conclusive answers. There are concerns, though, that some microplastics are so small that they can pass through our GI tract and into the bloodstream. This study found that microplastics accumulated in the liver, kidneys and guts of mice, and that the biochemical markers in the blood of these mice were significantly altered, indicating toxicity. Also concerning is the fact that chemical pollutants and poisons, such as pesticides, can adhere to microplastics, meaning they're bringing such poisons into our bodies with them.  

Obviously, in writing this post I'm leading to advocate buying a reusable water bottle. I've brought one from Tree Tribe (an American company, but one that sells on Amazon UK) that I'm really happy with. They plant 10 trees for every product sold, and the bottle comes with a lifetime guarantee, which is great if you're as clumsy as me! There are hundreds of different makes to choose from though so do shop around to find one that's best for you. 

The research about microplastics in bottled water is of course a major reason to make the switch to reusable. But more important is that the switch will reduce our single-use plastic habit, the habit which is one of the major contributors to the presence of microplastics in our oceans and waterways through the eventual breakdown of plastic waste.