A Deep Dive Into the Dark Side of Single-Use, Plastic Water Bottles
This World Ocean Day, let’s take a closer look at the impact of single-use plastic on our planet’s health. Eighty-percent of single-use plastic bottles end up in landfills where they decompose, leaking pollutants into our soil and water. Plastic constitutes 90 percent of all of the trash floating on the ocean’s surface – approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. So, while you might need to reach for one in the case of an emergency, they are not a sustainable solution for everyday use.
When you take a sip of water from a single-use plastic bottle, you may not realize that along with that refreshing H20, you are likely ingesting microplastics, PFAS, and a whole host of harmful contaminants.
Despite multiple studies showing the presence of harmful substances in bottled water, what goes inside is not regulated the way other types of water are. While it may be a better alternative than your tap water, bottled water has its own issues. The impacts on personal health can be dire. PFAS alone can cause serious health effects, including cancer, hormone disruption, and liver and immune system damage.
Read on to learn what’s in your water and how you can take matters into your own hands (literally!) for your health and our environment’s health.
What’s In Your Water?
Bottled water is increasingly found to have negative health impacts.
Released in June 2021, a new study found concerning levels of PFAS in bottled water. PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a chemical class that includes approximately 5,000 compounds that have been linked to cancer and learning delays in children.
Published in the journal Water Research and led by Johns Hopkins University researchers, the study found PFAS substances in 39 out of more than 100 bottled waters tested, in some cases at levels deemed concerning by water quality experts.
Another study published in Frontiers in Chemistry analyzed samples taken from 259 bottled waters sold in several countries and found that 93% of them contained “microplastic” synthetic polymer particles.
Several studies have demonstrated the potentiality of metabolic disturbances, neurotoxicity, and increased cancer risk in humans as a result of microplastics exposure.
Most Americans have been conditioned to distrust tap water, given old infrastructure and lingering contamination from industry. As such, they often turn to alternatives such as bottled water, built-in fridge filters or pitcher filters. However, those are actually not as helpful as you may think.
The TRUth: Most water filters only remove basic contaminants like chlorine.
Most fridge and pitcher filters are only designed to make your water taste better, removing simple chemicals like chlorine. They may leave behind a toxic chemical concoction for you to drink.
We Purify, You Thrive
At AquaTru, we believe an optimized life starts with access to pure water. Yet right here in the United States of America, unsafe water flows from the taps of three out of four homes. From big cities and small towns to wealthy communities and underserved low-income areas, people are consuming contaminated water that can result in harmful long-term health effects. While we occasionally get a glimpse into this problem thanks to national headlines, it’s generally considered an isolated issue. But it’s not. And AquaTru provides an affordable, life-enhancing, innovative solution.
We are driven by our mission to bring pure water to ALL. That’s why we designed AquaTru to be portable, so renters, home owners and dorm dwellers alike can experience the benefits of pure water. AquaTru was the first reverse osmosis countertop system invented and it remains the first and only countertop reverse osmosis system certified to NSF standards to remove 83 contaminants. In fact, it removes over 15 times more contaminants than ordinary pitcher filters.
Our commitment to you does not stop there. Since its inception, AquaTru has been a champion for eliminating single use plastic bottles. Just one set of an AquaTru countertop purifier makes the equivalent of 4,500 single-use 16.9oz plastic water bottles. Add one more Pre-Filter (a full year’s worth of filters), and you make the equivalent of 9,000 plastic bottles!
Our collective impact since 2015: AquaTru customers have saved approximately over half a billion single-use plastic water bottles from ending up in the ocean and our waterways by choosing AquaTru.
Bottle Your Own Water
Take pure water into your own hands. We’re excited to be launching NEW AquaTru stainless steel water bottles, developed with this same ethos in mind. Materials were carefully selected to be less energy-intensive and more sustainable.
Now you can have purified water with you wherever you go, hot or cold. If you regularly drink bottled water while on the go, you can now take pure water with you and make a difference for your health and our environment.
To further our commitment to you and the planet, a portion of profits from the sale of our new bottle will go to further protecting the oceans from single use plastic. It’s a win-win-win.
Stay tuned for our product launch!
Did you know?
Every single second, 1,000 people open a bottle of water in the U.S.
Imagine the collective positive impact if we choose a sustainable option instead of a single-use plastic bottle?
