Kayla Wilcox
Mrs. Willey
APES
June 7, 2013
APES Service Project
Water bottles. We have all used them at some point in our lives, but we haven’t stopped
to think about all of the negative effects that come along with using them. From pollution to
being harmful to your health, water bottles are not such a good thing after all. Even if you are in
a rush you can always allow at least two minutes to fill up a reusable water bottle because it’s
worth it. Consider it a social responsibility helping reduce long term waste to improve the next
generation.
In 1947 plastic water bottles were first used commercially and were fairly expensive until
around the 1960’s which was when high-density polyethylene was suggested. One town in
Australia which was the New South Wales town of Bundanoon ended up voting to ban the use of
plastic water bottles in 2009. This decision was made because of the concern of human health
and the environment in the community. Another decision was made in Canada in 2010 saying
that BPA is a toxic substance which was the first country to announce such a thing about BPA.
Every second around 1,500 plastic water bottles in the United States are getting consumed. As
you can tell we really need to reduce our intake of plastic water bottles.
One negative effect of using nonrenewable plastic water bottles is all of the fossil fuels
used to produce them. In the United States we annually use millions of barrels of crude oil just
to produce plastic bottles. After all of the bottles are produced we then use a lot of petroleum to
transport them all over the world which ends up polluting our atmosphere. Another downfall to
plastic water bottles is all of the chemicals in them. One main chemical for example is BPA
which is used to harden the plastic and make it clear. When the bottles become either to hot or
cold these harmful chemicals begin to leach out and into the water that you are about to
consume. Lastly, plastic water bottles aren’t as easy to recycle as you think. Out of all of the
plastic bottles in the world, most of them end up not even being recycled since only certain ones
can be. Most of them either end up stagnant in landfills, littering our streets or leaching harmful
chemicals into the ground.
There are a lot of options that we can do to help reduce the amount of plastic water
bottles used every day. One option is to use reusable water bottles so that there is no trash that is
produced. To promote the use of reusable water bottles schools should have water bottle fillers
above every water fountain. This makes it more appealing and easier to use reusable water
bottles especially since there is a filter in them. For example if you go to the Robinhood YMCA
they have one and it is actually put to good use. Another thing that people can do is use
biodegradable water bottles. These can be recycled and be biodegraded in landfills. Finally for
sports teams there should be a big Gatorade jugs/coolers so that the players can refill their
reusable water bottles without using plastic water bottles after they drank all the water out of the
reusable water bottles.
The action that my team took was handing out free reusable water bottles to a southwest
little league baseball team (the Marlins). Before the game we filled the water bottles with ice
cold water so that the players could use them during the game. As the players got to the field we
handed out the water bottles and told them a couple of negative facts about using nonrenewable
plastic water bottles. The team’s coaches even participated after hearing the facts. As a result
the players got a free reusable water bottle that they can use instead of plastic water bottles and
were educated in the process. As a result the team produced less plastic water bottle waste and
even enjoyed using the reusable water bottles.
The outcome of my team’s action ended up being positive. There was less plastic water
bottles in the trash. Also the boys enjoyed having ice cold water for during the game instead of
warm water bottles. The reusable water bottles were also healthier for the players and didn’t
leach chemicals into the water that they were about to drink. The coaches also got involved and
had their own water bottle. The parents of the players also appreciated the thought and were
impressed that their kids were actually using a reusable water bottle. Most important of all the
players learnt the harmful effects of using water bottles and hopefully will make them stop and
think when picking a water bottle up.
I think that the issue we ended up choosing is a very big deal that needs to be resolved.
This is not only effecting the environment but also human health. If we can spread the word
about all of the harmful effects that plastic water bottles cause we will have a healthier future
generation. Reusable water bottles are less expensive than a pack of plastic water bottles and
also last longer. In the long run you are saving more money using reusable bottles. With my
teams action we ended up educating the baseball players on what plastic water bottles can do on
both the environment and human health. Hopefully we even educated some of the parents from
the players telling them after the game. The one thing that we could have done differently was
attach a facts sheet to the water bottle for the players to have. We could have also handed out
biodegradable water bottles to show them two different options and how they are different. It is
important that children and teenagers learn about the consequences of using plastic water bottles
since they are our future generation. After this experience I will definitely continue to promote
the use of reusable water bottles and spread the word about all of the negative effects of plastic
water bottles. People need to know the consequences of using plastic water bottles and what
they can do to help reduce their use.
Citations
"What's the Problem with Plastic Bottles? | One Green Planet." One Green Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
June 2013.
Warner, Melissa. "Negative Effects of Using Plastic Drinking Bottles | EHow." EHow. Demand Media, 12
May 2009. Web. 05 June 2013.
"10 Plastic Water Bottle Facts You Should Know." - Environment 911. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2013.
"The True Price of Bottled Water | One Green Planet." One Green Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2013.