Plastic Drinking Bottles

[les1]

Hi guys, how long should I be keeping a plastic bottle to drink out of? I heard something about them 'breaking down'.

[Postdog]

Do you mean shop bought water and refilling the bottles?

My job is outside, and on hot days I always make sure I have water. In my experience these can be refilled quite a few times, but they can become brittle or mishapen (is that right?) and then all I do is replace it.

If you are talking about bottles for say, cycles, I've had the same one for years now. Bit tatty but otherwise OK.

[scoobysoo]

The water companies say you shouldn't refill them at all, as the more you, the more the plastic starts to deteriorate and can get into the water, then your body and could be harmful. You're better off muying a little sports bottle which is made specifically to be used over and over.

[beejaybee]

I read somewhere that the plastic bottles that have water or kiddies drinks in should not be reused. I`m sure it was on the label.

[candybar]

it says it on most water bottles i think. but to be honest i dont see what the harm is. obviously the deterioration of the plastic but this isnt going to happen quickly is it. ive refilled water bottles for up to a year and so far so good. think its more the manufacturer encouraging you to buy another bottle of their water as opposed to using their bottle for tap water.

[Ethel]

These water bottles can be on the shelf for more than a year and don't deteriorate.

As candybar says, it is simply a ploy to make you buy more bottled water! A total nonsense.

I recommend that you wash the part you put to your mouth frequently and thoroughly though. It gets 'smelly' if you don't.

[lia*]

I�m not saying this is not true, but I�m not sure I want to believe this. I think if you keep refilling the same bottles the companies who sell their products in these bottles will be loosing sales. Also, all juices contain acids and some of these bottled drinks remain on the store shelves for a long time. The acid from the juice will do more harm than water in such vessels. The FDA will get involved and these bottles would be banned. My belief is it�s just a gimmick to sell their products. Off course I could be wrong too.

[nickmo]

The theory of carcenogenic particles leaching into water in a re-filled bottle made of plastic is one of the modern hoaxes. The particluar chemical claimed to be present isn't even used in the manufacture of the bottle.

Lots of info on plastics from US site: here from the American Chemicals Council plastics info site.

What may cause a problem is the habit of not cleaning the bottle - every time you swig from the neck of the bottle you add bacteria to the contents, so by the time you've had a few days worth of drinks and re-filling - in the hot weather.....you're enjoying a thin bacteria soup.........

[steve208]

I will add my two penith to this as it interests me!

I quite agree that when you see it written on plastic bottle not to refill it is just a money grabbing thing.

But i did read somewhere, perhaps on AB that the "new" plastic bottles made from corn starch are not going to solve the resource use problem as they use valuable corn which is the staple diet of many in the developing world.

As with many things in todays world we face problems which have come as a result of an ever larger and more affluent world population consuming resources at an alarming rate. Problem is that we are trying to take a penalising approach to people wasting thing, in the sense of fining them etc.

We need to think about wholescale changes to the way we live so as to reduce the impact on our planet but unfortunatley for many of us the inital shock of these changes is too much to bear.

Councils tell us to reduce reuse and recycle. Please try to do the first two the most!!

[nickmo]

Hi steve208 - fair comment re the use of the corn but the variety developed for packaging is a high amylose variety designed to give a long polymer when processed i.e it acts like 'normal' oil based plastic - and it is not the same as that grown for food use.

The point of the corn plastic packaging is that it will have to be seen to replace the oil industries products as we have now passed the point I gather of demand exceeding finds of new deposits of oil. Not all oil is used for fuel - in fact more it seems is made into plastics and chemical products than we ever know - think of the food industries' reliance on it for one example for 'flavour real' products - all oil based stuff.....

The Belu water you mention is a charities' efforts to get some reduction in the use of oil plastics, and as farming for example can use corn packs and just plough the containers into the soil with no ill effects, plus with the future for fuel likely to be bio-deisel / corn oil based, (and other commercial uses being found as well - eg carpets) there are good arguments to encourage the growing of the packaging corn as a genuine way out of poverty.

The plastics industry is worth a reported 1000 billion Euros or more, with 40% of that worth being packaging - Britains wealthiest family are into boxes........makes you think, eh?

But. As it takes 20 acres of land to grow the soya for 1 acre of cattle to feed on it, we have encouraged the destruction of so much land to satisfy the expectations of the developed world will we do the same at the expense of the virgin land now available for corn?

Lets hear about this from the Chinese perspective for one point of view - lots of countries are seeking to expand their wealth, as they have every right to, and we have to have a viable option to oil for the future, and it may just be corn is the answer. Watch what Chavez was doing with OPEC and the oil in Venezuela to see

[ThisSpace]

Yeh, I was really surprised when I read "Do not re-use" on the side of a snazzy bottle of water I purchased sometime ago. Cheeky beggars. If your water wasn't so expensive, I WOULD buy it everyday instead of refilling the bottle!

Also what made me chuckle once was when reading the usual rubbish on a bottle about the water coming from a beautiful, natural location free from pollution etc etc etc, only to find "Bottled at source" written on the label! A nice and clean factory then.