Refilling one-time use plastic water bottle seams so right. Doesn’t it? Wrong! To start with, plastic water bottles are made of poly ethylene terephthalate (PET) which is a thermoplastic polymer which is responsible for all the woes related with water contained in plastic bottles. There is no dearth of health hazards linked to plastic water bottles but the real problem associated with packaged drinking water is the environmental impact, in intact or disposed form. It is now a well-known fact, bottled water contains microplastics and other contaminants detrimental to health, it is imperative to consider environmental problems associated with plastic water bottles and its alternatives. PET takes perpetuity to get biodegrade and thus it can be safely assumed that it will always be there on earth in some form.

Water is integral to existence of all life-forms and it comes second to air when talked about the basic elements needed for the survival. The technology and awareness of alternatives to bottled water is limited in principle and practice to an extent that people tend to come up with ‘tap water’ as the top choice when asked about viable alternatives to bottled water. Tap water can be a good source of drinking water in developed world where total dissolved solids are in safe zone of consumption and authorities take care of providing pure drinking water. This is not the case in developing world where water authorities are not well equipped to provide safe drinking water.

Best ways of sourcing drinking water to offices, home or any premise is to establish a system that applies point of use purification techniques, which essentially encompasses purification through multistage process comprising reverse osmosis, UV, activated carbon filtration and more. These systems also have in-built dispensing units to provide hot, ambient and cold water according to the demand. Various categories of drinking solutions are Drinking Water Fountains, Bottle Filling Stations, Water Coolers, Water Chillers and Water Dispensers.

Another interesting technological innovation that has potential to counter global water crisis is Atmospheric Water Generator that requires at little as 25 % humidity to generate water, that too with the capacity ranging from 20 to 10,000 liters of water. Similarly, Solar generated RO systems use solar energy for purifying water from almost any source including brackish water which has a TDS of over 14000. These new technologies have enormous capabilities to counter the detrimental impact of plastic on health, environment and economy.

So next time you shell out money for a plastic water bottle, do think for a minute about the carbon footprints, health hazards and its alternatives that are not only economical but also environment friendly.

END