If you are attending a party, think about bringing your own reusable bottle, and if you are throwing the party, think about offering water from a pitcher or large water dispenser rather than offering plastic water bottles.

The US is the largest consumer of bottled water in the world. The last statistic I found was for 2011 where we hit 9.1 billion gallons (which comes to 29.2 gallons per person for the year) according to the Beverage Marketing Corp.  According to the Container Recycling Institute and 2010 statistics, only 29.1% of plastic bottles are recycled, with the majority of the remainder ending up in landfills, and an undetermined amount ending up in our oceans (an issue discussed here yesterday).  And who knew, but “more than 90% of the environmental impacts from a plastic bottle happen before the consumer opens it”, according to Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resource Defense Council (oil is used for the plastic, the shipping and in refrigeration).

Did I also mention, the cost of tap water is incredibly cheaper than bottled?

Interestingly enough, last year, Concord, Mass was the first US city to ban the sale of plastic water bottles, along with a growing number of large organizations, including 15 university campuses in the US.  Please note though, I am not intending for this blog to be political, I am simply letting you know what is going on out there and you can form your opinions and actions…. for today, let’s just skip using any plastic bottles.

Have fun watching the game if you do so, and enjoy some tasty tap water!