Battle of the Bottle

Ask any Baby-boomer what one of the only fads they never thought that would gain the momentum it has and you can guess that bottled water would be at the top of their list. An estimated 15 billion dollar a year industry worldwide, the bottled water phenomenon has surpassed the soft drink, alcohol and plastic bottled milk business. The average American, reported by the Beverage Marketing Corp, is estimated to consume 28.3 gallons of water per citizen in 2006 with an astonishing low 12% that was only being recycled-The remaining 40 million bottles ending up in a landfill or as litter.

The need for pure clean drinking water has fast became a recyclers nightmare where’s only 27% of all plastic bottles were recycled in 2008-concertably lower than any other recyclable products like paper and aluminum. In the US, the number of recycling business has more than doubled to reach over 1,600 nation-wide, recycling over an estimated 2.4 billion pounds of plastic bottles. Our consumption rate supersedes the national average of recycling, leaving tons of waste to be left curb-side in our growing global population.

Why should you recycle plastic?

• Recycling 1 ton of plastic will save 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.
• Recycling plastic bottles can conserve enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for up to six hours.
• Recycled bottles uses two-thirds less energy than making new products from raw materials.
• PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles when recycled can create a variety of products including polyester thread used to make clothes, liners and an abundance of other house-hold items.

It’s just the right thing to do!