Drinking water from plastic bottles is bad for the environment as well as our health.
This was the message of the Drop It campaign, launched by Goumbook, which aims to reduce the use of plastic by getting the public and businesses to switch to drinking filtered tap water in reusable containers.
Tatiana Antonelli Abella, co-founder of Goumbook, said many residents were under the impression bottled water was better than tap water. "In fact, it's even worse for you," she said at the launch of the campaign.
The amount of chemicals that are extracted into water from being in plastic that is exposed to movement and heat is known to cause health problems."
The UAE has one of the highest rates of bottled water consumption in the world with each resident drinking an average of 250 litres of bottled water a year.
Ms Abella said the health concerns associated with bisphenol A (BPA), the chemical released in plastic bottles, should be of concern for consumers.
The European Food Safety Authority, however, said BPA posed no health concerns, although the Food and Drug Administration in the US, recently banned the use of the chemical in baby bottles.
Ms Abella said if anyone was not convinced of the health risks of BPA, the environmental effects of disposable plastic bottles should instead persuade people to curb their use.
Since only 20 per cent of plastic is recycled, many bottles end up in the sea, where it breaks down into small particles that are hazardous to marine life and humans who consume these animals.
Meanwhile, the waste that stays in landfills can take up to 1,000 years to break down.
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5 Comments
good information
Posted 02-02-2018 15:49
The bottle used by them to supply drinking water also matters a lot because of the poor quality of plastic used in it.
Posted 02-02-2018 15:49
Hi, Lohita! Thanks for your report on the negative effects of bottled water on human health and the environment. It is true that heavy consumption of bottled water produces a lot of plastic waste that could be avoided by drinking filtered tap water. I think the reason that a lot of people still prefer bottled water over tap is, just as Ms. Abella has said, because bottled water seems cleaner and safer. This is probably because tap water currently isn't safe to drink in all areas, and some areas have trace amounts of heavy metals, rust, or limewater in their tap water. However, with the installation of safe filtration systems in normal households, I think that switching to reusable containers will be far better for the environment. In the long run, it will probably cost less than buying bottled water, too! Nice work on your report!
Posted 21-09-2017 23:09
Hi, Lohita! Thanks for your report! It's quite shocking to hear that dangerous chemicals in plastic could be extracted into the water by single movement and heat. In that point, 'Drop It campaign' could be a great alternative we could practice to reduce the usage of plastic products and to adapt to that of reusable products for drinking water.
Additionally, I want to share an Edible water bottle called 'Ooho water blob'. You could easily watch a video on Youtube. To be brief, an Edible bottle made of seaweed covers water to form a water ball and we can drink it easily just in a single bite. Its cover is safe to both human body and nature and could decompose by itself after 4-6 weeks without usage. So we don't have to worry about health or environmental problems and waste. I think this brilliant idea could also be a great alternative to replace existing plastic bottle!
Posted 16-09-2017 23:56
Oh wow 'Drop It campaign' sounds amazing!! Plastic products are really harmful for us as it is non bio-degradable and on burning too produce harmful gases with directly affects pathophysiological system.
You shared a good news which can be a lession to follow up!!
Keep informing us about different environmental work over there and thanks for the informative report.
Posted 11-09-2017 13:16