We all know how important it is to drink water, but an increase in water consumption can also mean an increase in the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills. If you don’t use a reusable water bottle and opt for drinking water from a single-use plastic bottle, you could be impacting the environment more than you realize.
In an effort to keep plastic out of landfills, the number one mainstream water brand in the United States is changing things up a bit. Dasani is officially throwing their support behind The Coca-Cola Company’s “World Without Waste” goal and is not only committed to making their bottles with 50% recycled material by 2030 but is also beginning to put their water in cans.
The new 16-ounce aluminum cans are launching locally in the Northeastern United States this fall and expanding to other regions by 2020. New aluminum bottles will also be available in mid-2020. They will also be adding “How2Recycle” labels to all their packages in an effort to educate and encourage consumers to recycle after use.
“Designing our packages to reduce the amount of raw materials used and incorporating recycled and renewable content in our bottles to help drive a circular economy for our packaging is an important part of our commitment to doing business the right way,” Sneha Shah, group director, packaging innovation, Coca-Cola North America, said in a press release. “We are working diligently to continually reduce our overall environmental footprint through smarter package design, procurement of recycled and renewable materials while continuing to deliver exceptional consumer experiences.”
According to figures obtained by the Guardian in 2017, one million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. That number is likely higher now, as those figures are two years old. Dasani currently plans to remove the equivalent of 1 billion virgin PET bottles from its U.S. supply chain in the next five years and will continue to work to expand those efforts.
“While there is no single solution to the problem of plastic waste, the additional package and package-less options we are rolling out today mark an important next step in our effort to provide even more sustainable solutions at scale,” said Lauren King, brand director of Dasani.
Until the cans are fully available nationwide, you can reduce your plastic use right now by picking up a reusable water bottle, like this one that reminds you to stay hydrated by beeping and lighting up (and it even integrates with your fitness tracker).
Do you consume water from single-use plastic?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
