Forums → WEPR → Ban Plastic Bottles?!
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I'm sure many of us have heard of this, plastic bottles causing cancer or something else, but I never thought that it was an actual debate. My friend sent me a link involving "the dangers of plastic bottles"...it read:
"The opposition would argue that bottled water should remain legal because it is convenient and can be recycled....Bottles of water can only be recycled a limited number of times before they cannot be recycled again. As Anne Leonard states, âUnfortunately, the plastics companiesâ claims that their plastic is ârecyclableâ are badly misleading. Plastic waste is seldom if ever recycled into the same product, so recycling used plastic does not make a dent in the amount of plastic needed to make the original productsâ (2). Many Americans assume recycling is helping clean up the environment when the true reality is that most plastic from water bottles is not even recycled back into plastic water bottles, thus making the recycling a complete waste of energy. There is no point to the convenience of plastic water bottles if convenience is what is causing the planet to die.
Because plastic water bottles are hazardous to the human body, are destroying the environment, and are misleading to consumers, sales of all plastic water bottles should be restricted in the United States. With BPA harming the body, recycling and littering harming the environment, and companies twisting the truth to get their products sold, plastic water bottles are a danger to the society of America.
I guess I am just as ignorant as many Americans, thinking that "Hey, I'm recycling my water bottle. I'm saving the environment. YAY ME !".
I personally think that we as Americans should protest plastic water bottles, rather than ban them completely. I've also been told that recycling companies do not recycle bottles with caps on them, caps MUST BE OFF, which I find quite...stupid...but again like so many American's I (used to) throw away bottles with the caps on.
So i'm just wondering what do you think about this? Should it or should it not be and why?
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And about recycling plastic bottles, why not re-use them?
It's not like they get 'dirty' on the inside or anything, if you put the same drink back in then it's the same. You can buy 1 water bottle and re-fill it for a year, unless you lose it
even if they dont get dirty they will get scratched and stuff...
even if they dont get dirty they will get scratched and stuff...
So? Who carries a bottle to look good? xD
The water that comes out of your own sink is likely better for you than the water that comes from bottled water. It really depends where you live, but bottled water really isn't much better for you than tap water.
Probably, but bottled tastes 'cleaner', if you get what I mean, but after using the filter it tastes alright.
I try to use my reusable aluminum bottle everyday. I admit that on some days I forget and buy a plastic one though. I've heard the whole "cancer causing" argument, but I've also heard from other sources that it's not true. I really am not sure who to believe, because even if one type of plastic bottle is tested, how can we know that they'll all get the same results? I'm sure different brands get their bottles from different places and handle them differently too.
Right Right, i had forgot about tap water, honestly the only water i drink is from a fountain or my refrigerator (ah the comforts of technology).
But even still, I don't think we should over-reuse the plastic bottles like BlackVortex had said. They should probably do some more testing as to see a standard for how many times a common store bought plastic water bottle should/can be used before having to throw it away.
Btw my family an I still use plastic bags, haha. Those re-usable bags are only good if you're buying little amounts at a time (unless you buy about 6 or 7 reusable bags!). We tend to go to the store about once every 2 or so weeks, stocking up on food, so reusable bags would be pointless.
The air force/army uses paper bags i believe, well at least at the base grocery store. I don't know if that's true for all on-base grocery stores but I know for sure that every time we buy on the base they only use paper bags..it's quite annoying because they have no handles...sorry i got off topic there a little bit..
Maybe bottles made out of something else.
I just don't know what else they would, though.
both of you are necroing a very old thread aren't you?
anyway, in my opinion, unless you can literally test out a plastic bottle's contents using laboratory equipments, you cannot say that the said plastic bottle is made from something that will kill you over time like tobacco. because the ones testing it could be either influenced or worked for the water industry.
Also, the girl in Dubai died after drinking the same bottle for 16 months, but this is NOT a planned experiment with all the variables controlled. what if the girl died after ingesting other nonsense which is not from the plastic bottle or could be from other sources beside the plastic bottle? they didn't released the "experiment" or "inquiry" journal that would show without any reasonable doubt that the girl ACTUALLY died from drinking from the same bottle.
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Now I'm also necroing. Goodness
both of you are necroing a very old thread aren't you?
Generally it doesn't matter as long as it's brought back with a few decent posts of relevant discussion.
as compared to bottled water, which "can cause death in large doses"
The article said
"Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death."
Depending on the chemical structure of the plastic, the statement could be as useless as "Hydrogen, which is found in water, is highly flammable."
I seriously doubt the Dubai story. I can't find a reliable source on it, so there are currently a lot of holes. The claim is that the bottle was deadly due to cancer-causing chemicals. Did she even die of cancer? If so, what kind? Are there other potential causes? Even if it's all true and the bottle was the direct cause, it still seems like an "at your own risk" product that isn't harming non-users.
I'm sick of people arguing to ban things from the country due to health issues. You want to decrease the numbers, ban [tobacco]
The argument that other things are worse seems like a red herring. A statistical comparison is fine, but don't claim that "x is worse than y, so we should focus on x and ignore y." That goes beyond the scope of the topic.
Depending on the chemical structure of the plastic, the statement could be as useless as "Hydrogen, which is found in water, is highly flammable."
Plastic microparticles does enter the water in the bottle over time, which is why some say you shouldn't use a plastic bottle too often (or not even twice). Also, heat accelerates the effect, so you shouldn't let it stay in the sun too long, for example. But PET is likely one of the least dangerous plastic types, so the effect might be negligible for "normal" use.
I would be in favour of, not banning plastic bottles, but banning the more dangerous plastic types and being much more severe with what you allow and where you allow it. Food and drinks should come in contact with any plastic as rarely as possible. But you cannot avoid it, so make sure you use the less dangerous plastic type instead.
The bigger problem I see with PET, since it is relatively unproblematic in health issues, is the littering and environmental damage. But also here, banning plastic bottles might not be the solution; enhancing correct disposition of bottles, and trash in general, should be a more practical and realistic approach.
i think there is a need of developing another material in the place of plastic which is biodegradable and easily available, but this gonna be tough.
I heard somewhere (I don't have an article for this so treat as merely a rumor) that some company is developing a bio- degradable plastic made from corn starch and sugar or something like that.
I heard somewhere (I don't have an article for this so treat as merely a rumor) that some company is developing a bio- degradable plastic made from corn starch and sugar or something like that.
Yes, something like that already exists and is commercialised, but not very broadely yet.
The problem is that the process of creating said bioplastics is currently not really eco-friendly; to cover the need for plastic, you would need to cultivate huge areas of corn and other plants used in the process, which becomes unavailable for food production; and it seems the degradation is not as fast and efficient as we would hope. Basically, right now it is used as a sales argument and doesn't actually help much yet.
http://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webwelt/article2566246/Bio-Handys-sind-eine-Belastung-fuer-die-Umwelt.html
But that article is already a few years old, and who knows, maybe we will soon find some alternative that is worth it.
But that article is already a few years old, and who knows, maybe we will soon find some alternative that is worth it.
oh yeah, i heard that crab chitin could be incorporated in a form of plastic and make it biodegradable. I don't know about the specific detail though, but if it was true, then it would kill 2 birds in one stone, since crab chitin can be obtained from any kind of crab and doesn't necessarily need to be alive, and could be available in massive numbers ( 1 crab shell could be used for around 1-3 kg of plastic, or so i heard )
Banning plastic bottles has impacted many places. Although it has inconveniences for other people, most people tend to agree with this proposal. Last year, the area of Concord, Mass., became the very first area to ban bottled water. Several other cities globally have a bottled water ban and it's starting to become popular. Despite it being just water, the fact is every person has to pay to deal with the darn things winding up in the garbage. It has been reported that a large number of plastic bottles are found in the trash. This is the reason why it led to this.
ban bottled water
Link fix.
the fact is every person has to pay to deal with the darn things winding up in the garbage.
If the complaint is that they make up a significant portion of the trash, such that their transport is burdensome, it would be far more financially impactive to mandate personal compost bins to eliminate food (and other biodegradable) waste.
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