On September 20th, 2019, millions of protesters across the world took to the streets to advocate for environmental sustainability. Chants like “hey-hey, ho-ho, fossil fuels have got to go” and posters with witty one-liners on saving the planet infiltrated the Ithaca Commons as Ithaca residents and college students united and demanded further environmental action now.
Over the past few years, climate change has become an increasingly pressing matter, however, US policies have not reflected this, and counteracted these concerns with further destruction. While protesting in large masses creates a sense of comradery and demonstrates that many people really do care about these problems, it is vital to practice what is preached during these marches in our daily lives. For this reason, I was inspired to create a short series on all the different ways we can become more sustainable every day.
I’d like to begin this series with the first step I took toward environmental sustainability in my junior year of high school: purchasing a reusable water bottle. Within the past couple of years, the use of reusable water bottles has skyrocketed. Reducing the amount of single-use plastic that is produced is extremely important to environmental sustainability. The amount of plastic used every year is astounding and almost incomprehensible.
More than 60 million plastic water bottles end up in landfills every day in the US alone. That equates to about 22 billion every year. By using a reusable water bottle every day, you are saving on average 1,460 plastic water bottles every year. Now that may not seem like a lot, but there are 327 million people in the US, and theoretically, if every single one of them used a reusable water bottle, that would save thousands of pounds of plastic.
In addition, using a reusable water bottle will save you money in the long run. A reusable water bottle can cost anywhere from $3-$50, depending on the quality. Single-use plastic bottles typical cost anywhere from $1-$4, especially if purchased at amusement parks or sporting events. Even the more expensive reusable bottles are cost-effective, as they can hold all types of liquid regardless of the temperature.
For example, S’well bottles will keep your cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours and your hot drinks hot for 12 hours. Often times companies will also give customers discounts for bringing in their own reusable cups and bottles to promote environmental sustainability and because a fraction of the price of your drink includes the cost of the container it’s in.
While reusable water bottles are a great way to reduce your ecological footprint, they have also become an outlet for personal expression and individuality. It is very common among young people to personalize their reusable water bottles with stickers that represent them as individuals. These tend to include stickers advocating for social justice, motivational quotes, promotions for local businesses, and even just iconic memes. There are even websites like Red Bubble that specialize in the creation of unique sticker intended to fit on laptops and water bottles.
That being said, we can all in one way or another benefit from using reusable water bottles, along with the ecosystem we inhabit. Go out and get one!