I am a fan of bottled water. For convenience, emergency, and specialty needs,  it serves many of us very well. The industry provides jobs not only in the factory, but in transportation, packaging, water purification technology, lab testing, and of course jobs in warehouse, distribution and retail sales. I read also recently that bottled water has now overtaken carbonated “pop” as the number one beverage in the world. The trend is not going to stop any time in the foreseeable future, even despite the one big downside of bottled water;

THE PLASTIC BOTTLE

The Container Recycling Institute tells us that man throws away 60 million plastic bottles per day, which translates into 22 billion bottles per year. Despite our best efforts, the percentage of PET plastic that man recycles is less than 10% according to most published results. Madison avenue loves the plastic bottle because it offers so many pretty opportunities for design, marketing and sales appeal. Who doesn’t love the Fuji bottle?

The problem is, this plastic crap is killing us. We are drowning in it and it is ugly stuff.

So here is what I don’t understand; why are we not doing away with all plastic bottles and using the paper/cardboard drink boxes and carton technology? Why are we still buying milk, Coke, Root beer and so many other things in plastic? This is insanity. It is like a dog going to the bathroom in its own cage. Personally, I don’t care what a package looks like. Put an Oreo cookie into a boring cardboard container, and I am still diving in head first. And what about glass? This stuff is just as ugly as plastic, but coming from silica (sand) it is harmless, and can carry a refund benefit. Homeless folks would love to enterprise collecting and returning empty glass bottles. We did it as kids for movie money. It can work again.

I don’t have too many connections in the Food, Beverage, Detergent, Personal Care, Dairy and Automotive Maintenance industries, but I sure do in the water industry. I am going to start my own campaign for….

NO MORE PLASTIC CONTAINERS