World Oceans Day

You won’t have escaped one of the biggest issues of our time – Plastic. Single-use plastics are the focus of a global crisis damaging our environment. Globally we are now producing nearly 300 million tons of plastic every year, half of which is for single use. More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year. Plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Marine plastic pollution has impacted at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine mammal species. The impacts include fatalities as a result of ingestion, starvation, suffocation, infection, drowning, and entanglement

• Every day 35 million plastic bottles are sold across the UK and many end up as litter, in our oceans or in landfill sites.
• The process of producing bottled water requires around 6 times as much water per bottle as there is in the container.
• 14% of all litter comes from beverage containers. When caps and labels are considered, the number is higher.
• Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.  We are currently too dependent on disposable plastics, and is becoming the focus of environmental groups and governments to do something about it.

Can I just keep re-using my standard plastic bottle?

Ever wondered why there’s a use-by date on bottled water? Mineral water can spend hundreds of years in the ground and be perfectly drinkable, but as soon as it’s in a plastic bottle it has a best-before date of a matter of months. This is to do with the plastic, not the water.

Manufacturers make these plastic bottles for the purpose of a single use, so they don't last forever.  Two things can happen as you reuse plastic bottles over and over: They can leach chemicals, and bacteria can grow in them. Such plastics aren’t designed to last a long time, they deteriorate over time and can become potentially harmful.

What are the alternatives?

Cutting out single-use plastics doesn’t have to mean going without vital hydration. There’s a whole range of choice for re-usable, long-term alternatives to standard single-use plastic bottles. Whether you need an individual bottle on the go or a larger capacity jug or filter tank, the market has lots to offer. Not only do you have choice for water bottles, but also hot drinks storage.

A good water bottle or hot beverage flask not only reduces the amount of waste plastics, it could save you a small fortune on not going to your usual coffee outlet. Recently larger coffee outlets have put an extra charge on their disposable cups – so it pays to be prepared! Instead of filling up from the tap each time or buying new disposable plastic water bottles, reduce your waste-water and plastic usage with the use of a re-usable water bottle.

See our range of Jugs and Bottles here:

www.goshopdirect.co.uk/collections/water-filters