How Many Plastic Bottles Do You Use Per Week?

This blog isn't about Rhode Island specifically, but it's on my mind since it's Earth Week.


It's one of the simplest things we can do to protect our environment. And like many other methods of saving the planet, it also saves some pennies.


I used to buy a case of bottled water every single week.

That’s 24 bottles per week.
1249 bottles per year.
Approximately $500/year


According to treehugger.com, “Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.”


In addition, “approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil—enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year—are used to make plastic water bottles, while transporting these bottles burns even more oil”.


So I’ve convinced you to stop using plastic bottles – but you don’t like the taste of your tap water. What’s an earth conscious person to do? Go get yourself a water dispenser. We bought a PUR water dispenser and it’s worked out great. It fits nicely in the fridge, and it gives us great tasting water. There are plenty of products like this out there, and many different brands. You could also get a filter that fits directly onto your faucet.


Great, you’re saying… this helps at home, but I need something portable. I take water with me all the time. Not to worry… I have a solution for that, too! We purchased some SIGG water bottles last year and just love them. There are so many styles to choose from. They’re durable, lightweight and made out of aluminum, which means your water tastes like water, not plastic. You can also order ice cube trays with cubes that fit into your bottle.

This one of the biggest changes I've made, along with discontinuing the use of plastic bags and using reusable bags at the market. It's easy, saves money and protects the environment. If Earth Day inspires you make just one change, this would be a great place to start.