Reusable Water Bottles free essay sample

Reusable Water Bottles I. Introduction A. 50 billion plastic water bottles end up in the U. S. landfills each year. That’s 140 million every day! That is enough, laid end to end, to reach China and back each day. (â€Å"Tap water vs bottled water.. †) B. According to our class survey, more than half of the class buys water bottles more frequently than others. C. I, myself, use to buy bottled water almost everyday, at school, work and the gym. II. Thematic Statement A. Reusable water bottles are good for our environment, our wallets and our health. B. Pre Summary 1. Plastic water bottles are one of the hardest waste to break down. 2. People are unaware of the damage it can bring to our environment and our health 3. We can help to reduce our carbon foot print when we invest in reusable water bottles. TR First lets take a look at the problem III. Problem A. Plastic pollution is a world wide problem. 1. There is a â€Å"growing patch† of plastic estimated to be more than twice the size of Texas floating in the North Pacific Ocean. a. In 2008, Americans drank an average 215 bottles of water each year, for a total of 66 billion bottles. Of that total, only 22% was recycled. (â€Å"Resources.. †) b. So imagine, every six water bottles we use, only one of them makes it to the recycling bin while the others end up in landfills, or even worse, lakes, rivers and oceans. c. We are shipping 1 billion water bottles a week around the U. S. in ships, trains, and trucks. (â€Å"Resources.. †) 2. Disposable plastic water bottles are made out of oil, which is a limited natural resource. a. Currently, the amount of oil we use to produce water bottles each year (17 million barrels) could fuel over 1,000,000 cars for an entire year. (â€Å"Resources.. †) b. We are paying 2 to 4 times the cost of gasoline for a product that is virtually free, but in reality c. We are paying more to make water bottles than to put gas in our car. B. The reasons people buy bottled water have a lot to do with the manufacturers (Tap water vs bottled water). 1. The company that sells bottled waters such as Fiji, Dasani, Crystal Geiser, and Kirkland, want you to think their water is the purest and cleanest. a. Examiner. com stated that â€Å"Americans spend approximately $100 billion a year on bottled water and about 40% of one bottled water is nothing more than filtered tap water alone. (Hugh, Alans. â€Å"Reusable waters.. ) b. There isn’t a lot of difference other than price and decorations. (Hughs,Alan. â€Å"Reusable waters.. ) 2. According to Water Benefits Health. com, in their article â€Å"Tap water vs. Bottled water: Which is Healthier? †.. they state â€Å"Over the past few decades, savvy bottled water companies have spent mega adve rtising bucks to persistently program us into believing that the water they bottle is safer and healthier than our tap water. † a. companies want us to believe their water is the best. b. Although the plastic bottle that is used to contain the water you drink may not be the healthiest. c. The data collected from the class survey indicates majority of the class chooses â€Å"Costco Kirkland† brand or whatever is cheapest. However, brands that don’t cost much to buy, don’t cost much to make. 1. From the 1 billion water bottles being transported a day, some are made from countries like China that may contain BPA- Bisphenol A. (Hugh, Alans. â€Å"Reusable waters.. ) 2. From the FDA. gov Public Health Focus, BPA is an industrial chemical that has been present in many plastic bottles since the 1960’s. fda. gov) When and if you do decide to still purchase water bottles be sure it is labeled, â€Å"BPA free†. TR Now that we’ve seen the extent of the problem, we can explore it’s causes. IV. Causes A. Plastic bottles end up in landfills and oceans because people aren’t knowledgeable or simply do not care. 1. People think recycling is inconvenient, that it doesn’t matter if they recycle or not. a. People don’t see how recycling effects their daily lives because they don’t see it. It is shipped away from town in landfills that not a lot of people know about. b. Some people don’t bother to ecycle because it can be confusing to know the difference between the 13 kinds of plastics and which can and cannot be recycled so they just dismiss the idea of recycling all together. 2. Another reason why people don’t recycle could be the fact that they are misinformed. a. They don’t realize the price of products rising due to depleted resources. b. At Best Buy, when you purchased any bottled water or soda not only did the price go up, there is also a . 10 cents bottle fee. B. Americans don’t like to recycle 1. College graduates and adults over 55 are the ones who recycle the most. . Recycling is done by only half of Americans and 13% don’t care. TR So now that I’ve discussed the problems and gave you reasons how it’s caused. Let me explain the steps that people have taken to lesson their carbon foot print. V. Solution A. Buy filtered jugs a. Filtered jugs can be cost efficient, It can range from $15 to $5 0 dollars b. depending on how big and if it comes with additional filters it beats paying $1. 50 every other day for bottles water. It may not seem like a lot but when you average that out, it’s about $5 a week and an estimate of $20 a month. . Purchase reusable water bottles a. Water containers are so convenient. b. use it at the gym, at work and fill it up at school. There are some that come with water filters if you’re still worried about tap water. B. Petition to replace water fountains to Fill Stations 1. An article in bulletinbottle. com, a group of 30 high school students in Kentucky came together and petition to install two water refilling stations. a. they contacted their local water departments to help fund for these stations to be installed. b. Now they are in 5 different high schools and after the first week 3,600 reusable bottles were filled and has continue to increase. (â€Å"More reusable water.. †) TR As you can see, people have done their part and so can you. VI. Action A. Go out and purchase yourself a reusable water bottle. 1. They are so convenient and money saving, there are different places you can go to buy these containers. 2. The more you carry around your water container the less you will need to buy plastic water bottles. B. If you agree and like the idea of the Refill Station. 1. Please Print and Sign your name on this hand out. . I will try and get in contact with the schools committee and find out who to speak to about making the Refill Station something we can have around campus. VII. Conclusion A. Reusable water bottles are good for our environment, our wallets and our health. B. Summary 1. Plastic water bottles are one of the hardest waste to break down. 2. People are unaware of the damage it c an bring to our environment and our health 3. We can help to reduce our carbon foot print when we invest in reusable water bottles. C. As children we were taught to reduce, reuse, recycle. Something that was fun to do at school but now that we’re older, and more informed about how plastic bottles effect us and our environment, we should: 1. Reduce the amount of plastic bottles we buy 2. Reuse our reusable water bottles and continue to 3. Recycle plastic bottles in hope to decrease the amount of plastic being wasted everyday. Reference Page * Hughs, Alan. Reusable Water Bottles Help Your Wallet and the Environment. Examiner. com. N. p. , 5 May 2010. Web. 13 May 2013. * More Reusable Water Bottles: High School Group Fights for Less Waste | Bulletinbottle. om. More Reusable Water Bottles: High School Group Fights for Less Waste | Bulletinbottle. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 May 2013. * Resources. Back2Tap RSS. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 May 2013. * Spencer, Neil. Why Americans Don’t Recycle. Visual News. N. p. , 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 May 2013. * Tap Water vs Bottled Water: Which Is Healthier? Tap Water vs Bottled Water: Which Is Healthier? N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 3 May 2013. * Wijeratne, Kantha, and Niki Fears. ECO FRIENDLYWATER BOTTLES. Eco Friendly Water Bottles. N. p. , 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 May 2013.