Just back from an amazing silent meditation retreat. It was glorious and fascinating and I’ve returned to my lovely students feeling so inspired! The only downside of meditation retreats is the sitting! I longed to move, I had to move, no cushion or bolster could relieve the agony in my knees and hips! So when the retreat was finished and I got to the airport to fly home (with many hours to kill), I walked and walked and walked. So good to move! And walking makes you thirsty. But were there any water fountains in the Sydney airport departure lounges? No. Only horribly expensive, small bottles of bottled water to purchase. Outrageous. Not one water fountain in sight so that I could refill my reusable water bottle. Out of principle I refuse to buy bottled water and ended up filling my bottle with tap water from the bathroom. Yuk. And buying bottled water is not a good thing. If we want to save the planet read on and become a boycotter of bottled water! Enjoy …love …Margot
What happens after you throw your plastic water bottle in the recycling bin? The world drinks over $100 billion (USD) worth of bottled water each year. That’s roughly 50 billion bottles. In addition, 17 million barrels of oil are used in the production of disposable water bottles annually, in other words, enough to fuel 1 million cars for an entire year. Producing bottled water also requires up to 2000 times the energy cost of producing tap water. And it takes 3 times the amount of water to produce a bottle as it does to fill it.
What about the recycling process of the bottles? 20% of water bottles are recycled but 80% end up in landfills, on the streets and in waterways where they leak toxic chemicals and finally decompose…after 450 years. Every square km of the ocean has more than 18400 pieces of plastic in it. And 300 years from now you will be encountering today’s plastic bottle that ended up in the ocean.
Why are 1 billion people around the world still struggling to gain access to drinkable water? Because multinationals have put a price on a basic life necessity, making clean water inaccessible to those who can’t afford it. By refusing to buy bottled water, you are taking a step towards preventing the privatization and commodification of water resources, and instead are helping to promote public water works to ensure that our public water remains accountable to all. Bottled water samples can contain phthalates (leached from the plastic), mold, microbes, benzene etc. Phthalates are hormone disruptive and are linked to thyroid issues.
Like a lot of the good things in life such as a regular yoga practice and fresh organic food; carrying your own water and boycotting the bottled will not only change your own world and community, but make a huge difference to saving the rest the world.