Water is one of life’s necessities, and because of the human need for water, there has to be an easy way to take water with you on the go. In the past, ancient groups used pottery or even animal bladders to carry water. Today, we have much more convenient measures like plastic bottles. However, there is almost always a price to pay for convenience and in this case, it is the environment that takes the hit.

But aren’t water bottles recyclable? Yes, you can throw a plastic bottle into a blue bin, but there is no guarantee that bottle will actually be turned into something new. One of the contributing issues is the decision by China to stop accepting foreign waste. In the past, China could make a profit out of turning recyclable materials into new products, however, because of the decreasing quality of the recycling they are importing, it is too difficult to make money out of this venture. In fact, over 11 million tons of plastic will be diverted from going to China into landfills before 2030.

The reason China will not accept our recycling anymore lies in the changes made to make consumer life easier. Now, “single-stream” recycling is very popular, where people can throw plastic, metal, paper, etc., into a single bin. However, this leads to contaminated recycling mixes that are too difficult to efficiently sort. In addition, packaging has gotten increasingly more complex. The numbering system for plastics is confusing and hard to determine, and oftentimes containers have more than one recyclable material in them, like a combination of plastic and paper.

So even if a plastic water bottle is recycled, it might as well be thrown in the trash. As high as 88% of water bottles do end up in landfills, where they are burned and contribute to depleting the ozone layer. Those that are not burned, can make their way to the ocean, where it is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish by 2050. Thus, recycling is often a way for people to justify bad habits, like using disposable water bottles.

Now if we assume that a water bottle does get successfully recycled, it is still impacting the environment through the processing methods. For every bottle that is made, it takes a quarter of the bottle of oil to manufacture it. Coming out to 17 million barrels of oil a year, that is enough oil to power 190,000 houses or 1.3 million houses for an entire year. Most people have learned that oil is not a renewable resource, so it might not be the best idea to use so much of it on water bottles. In addition, water bottle manufacturing releases 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air. Clearly, recycling a Dasani bottle is not helping reduce global warming.

In addition to damaging the environment, plastic bottles can also negatively affect human life. The biggest issue is the high cost. If someone were to follow the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, it would cost upwards of $1,800 a year if drinking from water bottles, compared to $0.49 for tap water or $70 for filtered water. In addition, water bottles are made of plastic that contains phthalates, chemicals that can leak into the water and potentially cause dizziness, asthma, and even breast cancer. And even though the FDA regulates bottled water, if the water does not cross state lines, it will be subject to far less testing for microbes and other harmful compounds. Finally, many companies take and process water in areas that are experiencing drought like California, or severe  water issues, like Flint, Michigan.

Luckily, there is a very easy solution: using a reusable water bottle. Multi-use water bottles are widely available in a variety of prices, sizes, and styles. Many schools and public buildings are catching on to the growing trend in reusable water bottles and install water bottle fillers that make it easy to fill the bottle up anywhere. And if people buy bottled water for the flavored varieties, there are powders or even fruits that can easily be added to a reusable water bottle to jazz up the taste of plain water. For people who do not like tap water, there are some that allow for filters to be inserted. There truly is a reusable bottle that works for everyone.

Plastic water bottles will always be needed for situations like emergency events, such as natural disasters, or for tourists in developing countries where the water can make someone unadjusted to it very sick. And it is definitely nice to be able to grab water at a convenience store or vending machine if you forget a water bottle for a long day out. So the plastic water bottle issue will never completely go away. However, if possible, use a reusable water bottle to cut down on the excessive plastic production killing the environment.