A recent piece just ran in my local news about reusing disposable plastic water bottles vs. tossing it out and the verdict is that this is not safe. I saw this PBS special (I think PBS - it was years ago) where some guy was making a statement by using the same plastic water bottle over and over and they played it off as green, because he wasn't tossing it out, but the news piece notes that The Oregon Environmental Council says that there are two major reasons why you should not reuse disposable single use water bottles – bacteria and polyethylene terephthalate.
Because your hand won't fit in a disposable water bottle and because it's recommended that you don't put them in the dishwasher, they're tough to clean properly. Plus these disposable bottles have tons of ridges and indentations so bacteria is a likely problem.
Secondly, the report discussed that these water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate which can degrade and leach phthalates into your clean drinking water. Phthalates can disrupt your hormones and the expert from the The Oregon Environmental Council further notes that phthalates have been linked to various health problems, “Including women giving birth to boys with small genitalia and undescended testes.”
Refilling a water bottle once or twice it's not going to kill you, but the healthier and greener choice is to choose a reusable bottle made from eco-friendly, non-toxic materials. I LOVE my Klean Kanteen, but there are lots of other non-toxic reusable water bottle choices out there.
Edited by JenniferChait - 4/29/10 at 9:11am
Because your hand won't fit in a disposable water bottle and because it's recommended that you don't put them in the dishwasher, they're tough to clean properly. Plus these disposable bottles have tons of ridges and indentations so bacteria is a likely problem.
Secondly, the report discussed that these water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate which can degrade and leach phthalates into your clean drinking water. Phthalates can disrupt your hormones and the expert from the The Oregon Environmental Council further notes that phthalates have been linked to various health problems, “Including women giving birth to boys with small genitalia and undescended testes.”
Refilling a water bottle once or twice it's not going to kill you, but the healthier and greener choice is to choose a reusable bottle made from eco-friendly, non-toxic materials. I LOVE my Klean Kanteen, but there are lots of other non-toxic reusable water bottle choices out there.
Edited by JenniferChait - 4/29/10 at 9:11am
