For a number of years, people around the globe are taking far greater care to ensure they play their part in preserving the environment.
The environment has become everyone’s concern and blame for destroying it can no longer be placed at the feet of someone else.
Simply put, we each have a share in securing our environment and the ability of every species – from humans to amoeba – to live on planet earth.
Single-use plastic water bottles and takeaway coffee cups have been replaced with reusable glass bottles and thermos cups respectively and many outlets have ceased providing plastic straws with your drink – all in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint and see less waste landing up in landfills and, more importantly, the ocean.
The motivation to jump on the environment train differs for everyone, but for me it’s the idea of sea animals and birds being harmed by household waste that motivates me to sit up and take action in my life.
And while nature conservation is a serious issue, there is always the upside for anyone looking for a stylish (or pretty) accessory – reusable plastic, glass, stainless steel and food-grade silicon vessels come in an array of great designs and style to add a little panache to you morning coffee or daily water intake.
However, a new study from environmental think tank Green Alliance has shown that bottled water alternatives are not as green as they claim to be.
According to South African National Bottled Water Association’s (SANBWA) executive director, Charlotte Metcalf, the study examined if alternative forms of packaging, including aluminium, glass and cartons, are less harmful to the environment than PET or the other food-grade plastics used for making bottled water bottles.
“Its results show that simply changing packaging materials is far from the guaranteed sustainable solution many consumers assume it to be, with alternate materials bringing with them a host of environmental issues,” she says.
The study examined aluminium, glass, cartons and plastic against three criteria: production waste, carbon emissions, and end-of-life.
Using red, orange or green traffic lights as a device, it defined each material’s overall score.
Plastic bottles scored marginally the worst (with orange for production waste and carbon emissions, and red for end-of-life.
However, all the alternative materials each received one orange and one red light.
Locally, the SANBWA has been advocating caution when it comes to responding to the wave of anti-plastic sentiment rippling around the globe.
Metcalf doesn’t dispute the fact that plastic in all its forms is one of the major pollutants of our water bodies and landmasses, nor does she argue against the fact that ways must be found to curtail that pollution.
But she does maintain it is time to find truth and balance in the myriad calls for plastics to be replaced with alternatives or degradable versions.
“If we don’t, we risk setting policies, formulating regulations, enacting legislation, investing in technologies and encouraging people to take on certain products that will do more harm than good.
“The findings of this study must be taken seriously.
“It shows that switching to aluminium will generate toxic waste, to glass would generate additional carbon emissions, and to carton will create hundreds of tonnes of low-quality waste,” she says.
It’s clear then that switching to more environmentally friendly options isn’t all that easy and you need to consider the entire picture – along with the downfall of each product – before throwing out your plastic water bottle and spending a fortune on another solution.
Metcalf also points to a flaw she considers in the Green Alliance premise.
She says it was a mistake to regard plastic water bottles as single-use.
“Like other containers – plastic or otherwise – you use every day in your home, water bottles are reusable and recyclable.
“They are not single-use products and by recycling them after reusing them, you reduce their environmental footprint by 25 per cent,” she says.
The message seems clear then.
While plastic certainly poses a hazard to the environment, it is certainly not alone in that category.
The most important consideration seems to be whether your favourite coffee cup or water bottle is reusable, as therein lies your ability to make a small (but meaningful) contribution to saving the planet.
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