To drink the recommended eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily, most people will need to bring their water wherever they go. But remember that plastic water bottles harm the environment and health.
Chemical leaching and toxicity could occur if you drink from a single-use plastic bottle! It is the reason why a water filter system is essential.
Toxic chemicals in plastic are leached into the water when the plastic is heated. If you leave water bottles in the car or by the pool for an extended period, the bottles may reach temperatures at which the microplastics become unsafe to drink. However, there is a lack of definitive evidence suggesting that prolonged exposure of bottles to high temperatures is harmful.
The Major Threats Presented by Bottled Water
Awareness of plastic water bottle pollution has grown in recent years. Disposable plastic water bottles pollute the environment, but most people still use them.
Although the adverse effects of plastic water bottles on the environment should be reason enough to invest in a reusable water bottle and a water filter for the home, doing so has additional advantages.
The environmental toll that single-use plastic water bottles take may be the most compelling argument in favor of reusing one. Some of the less obvious risks associated with consuming bottled water are discussed below, along with other reasons to switch to reusable containers.
1. Your Bottled Water Isn’t From Where You Think.
Consumers buy bottled water despite its environmental impact because they think it’s better. Bottled water ads often show clean streams or mountain springs to convince consumers that their product is better than municipal water and other brands, but it’s not.
2. It May Lack Filtration.
Bottled water is often glorified tap water. Some companies filter their water before bottling, but others just charge more. Thus, bottled water costs thousands of times more than tap water. Some studies suggest bottled water is less safe than tap water because of strict regulations on piped municipal water into our homes.
3. The Plastic Used to Bottle Water Can Leach Toxic Chemicals into the Water.
The primary risk of drinking bottled water is exposure to harmful toxins from plastic. Water is not acidic, but if you drink it from a plastic bottle, you may drink the chemicals used to make the bottles.
It frequently happens with water bottles that are several years old or have been heated. When this happens, the harmful effects of BPA and other plastic toxins, such as cancer and liver and kidney damage, can be absorbed into the bloodstream and have devastating effects on the body.
4. Problems with Growth and Fertility
More companies are starting to sell plastic water bottles that don’t contain bisphenol A (BPA), but Type 7 plastic is still frequently used. One of the many issues with BPA is that it mimics estrogen and, when ingested in water from leaching plastic, can lead to many chromosomal abnormalities linked to everything from birth defects to developmental disabilities in children. Male and female fertility can be negatively affected by BPA because of its estrogenic properties.
5. You Might be Drinking Microplastics
To many people, the fact that drinking bottled water can put them at risk of ingesting microplastics is the most worrying thing that has come to light about bottled water in recent years.
The most contentious use of microplastics is as exfoliating scrubbers in many cosmetic products like hand cleaners and facial scrubs. Still, they are found in a wide range of products and are typically less than 5mm in length.