 |
|
BANG FOR THE BITE
If you're already staying hydrated with home-filtered water in a reusable water bottle, you rule. Switching from plastic to a more inert material is a healthier, inexpensive additional step.
COCKTAIL FACT
Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour — yet only one bottle out of four is recycled. In 2002, that was 4 billion pounds. Yeah, that’s with a B.
| SAVE TO MY BITES |  |
FORWARD TO A FRIEND:
RATE THIS TIP:
How useful is this tip to you?
(5 is the highest)
home › tip library › Safe Water Bottles
Water, water everywhere, but not a safe bottle to drink?
The Bite
It used to be practically a requirement for the eco-conscious urbanite to lug water everywhere in a colorful hard-plastic bottle. Studies now show these and other bottles can leach potentially toxic chemicals. Choose stainless steel or glass instead.The Benefits
- Polycarbonate plastic (made by Nalgene and other companies) leaches bisphenol-A, a chemical linked to increased risk of birth defects, miscarriage and prostate cancer. Scratches in the plastic, harsh detergents and boiling liquids exacerbate the leaching.
- With no known health hazards, HDPE (soft, opaque #2 plastic) may be a better choice.
- Stainless steel doesn’t react or leach, so it’s good for water and other beverages. Aluminum is trickier because the metal itself may be neurotoxic so it usually has a coating.
- Glass is non-reactive, dishwasher safe—and free if you reuse a juice bottle with a tight fitting lid. (And if you’re a klutz, there are cute covers to protect them).
Personally Speaking
We all have faucet-mounted Brita filters and are somewhat notorious for refilling and carrying our Biter Bottles with us everywhere. Jen even takes hers into restaurants, much to the chagrin of her dinner dates.
Wanna Try?
- Biter Bottles - the lightest, highest quality reusable option is our very own resin-lined aluminum SIGG bottle, in silver and gold ($20).
- SIGG – Swiss-made, lightweight aluminum bottles in cool colors and designs. The water-based inner coating is non-toxic and resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks ($20).
- Klean Kanteen - lightweight, food-grade stainless steel, with no toxic leaching or mineral migration ($14).
- To do away with plastic “sippy cups” for the kids, pair SIGG’s cute tot-sized bottles ($14) and grip handle add-ons ($6).
- Nalgene HDPE – can’t live without the old camping stand-by? Same Nalgene styling, in a safer, opaque plastic ($7).
- Water Bottle Tote - made from neoprene, which isn't exactly a top eco material, but it will last and help your glass water bottle stay intact. Plus, it comes in our favorite color ($10).
Feb 28,2006
Sponsor
All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Who Needs a Dog or a Baby?
I took a red eye flight last night from LA to NY. Personally,
unless you are landing in a foreign country or are STARTING your trip,
not ending it, I think one should avoid redeyes at all costs. It's just too depressing to show up at dawn and start a work day.
In
spite of the woman who threw a hissy fit and had to be taken off the
flight before we could take off (true story), I did, however, have
quite a nice flight - partially due to the fact that people couldn't
get enough of my water bottle. In a world where apparently you are
supposed to have a toy dog or a baby in order to get picked up, I
learned last night, that it's really the water bottle that does the
trick.
Apparently,
I am not the only one who has a mad love of my SIGG water bottle -
nearly everyone who saw me sip out of it remarked on it and asked where
they could get one. I was a one-woman marketing machine for SIGG.
-Heather... of to download LA photos...
Biter Comments...
I am LLBean's biggest fan...Stainless Steel is the way to go. Hot stays very hot and Cold stays very cold.
I have 4 Stainless-Steel Canister Mugs that my husband and I use everyday for coffee, tea, soup, snacks, etc. $14 each.
I also have 2 Stainless-Steel Vacuum Bottles
for water. $19 or $22 depending on size and
comes with carry bag.
Great investment...lasts forever...easy to wash and use!!!
Now I am confused. I recently purchased polycarbonate #7 water bottles (New Wave Enviroproduts) because they were non-leeching. I thought this was a better alternative than having my kids drink out of the drinking fountain at school. YUCK!
the water linked below is is very streamlined and supposdly enhances performance. i've dropped their bottles and they remain intact. i've also placed freezing cold bottles in hot water and hot bottles in the freezer.
Sure hate to see you give a plug of any kind to Nalgene. They make the stocks used to restrain animals for laboratory tests. I will continue to boycott all Nalgene products until I learn they have stopped supporting animal research. For more information:
http://www.rmad.org/nalgene.html
how do these alternatives rate with not tainting the flavor of the water? That's always been a big plus to the traditional Nalgene bottles.
I can see glass leaving it taste-free but then it's dangerous (not to mention heavy!) to carry around. (yeah yeah, I know, then I can buy another bag to house and protect the glass bottle. personally, i'm sick of carrying around so many little satchels.) The designs on the stainless steal look cool but I feel weird drinking even soda out of aluminum, let alone clean and pure-tasting water.
My friends and I have been using and re-using the #2 plastic SmartWater bottles, but after a few re-uses they can get trashed (er, recycled).
I like the idea of re-using Voss bottles. There is something so clean tasting about drinking out of clear, clean glass or sturdy plastic.
Kudos to stephanos- this was the first thought that went through my mind as well. Though I can hardly blame ya'll for promoting them as I only just found out about their tie to vivisection. I definitely encourage anyone that doesn't support animal research to stop buying from Nalgene. Do check out the website posted by stephanos.
and when I referenced stephanos I meant to reference bari... lo siento.
I'm having a hard time remembering what we all did before all of the bottled water products on the market, and all of these various bottles for transporting water. Thermoses?
I ditched the Nalgenes when I saw an article at mindfully.org about these leaching into water, and just carry around a couple glass juice bottles now. It is heavier than plastic, but I didn't have to go out and buy 'em, which is good. (and the info on vivisection and Nalgene is greatly appreciated, I hadn't seen this mentioned before).
FWIW, you can get away with reusing the PET water bottles a couple times provided you don't expose them to temperature extremes. Extreme cold (i.e. putting your bottle in the freezer), and heat (using super hot water to sanitize) will cause the coating on the inside to deteriorate.
Thanks Heather for the "SIGG" link included in you initial post. The site this link goes to, reusablebags.com has a basic stainless steel bottles too so I was able to get a bottle my husband would use too along with the gorgeous SIGG bottle I got for myself and kids. No more plastic!
If you're a hiker and not interested in packing a heavy stainless steel or glass bottle with you on the trail, get a platypus watter bottle from REI or any good outdoor store. They are clear plastic and collapse as you drink so they take up less space. They also can be frozen or boiled and have a lifetime warranty. They are made by Cascade Designs, Inc. out of Seattle.
The best water bottles on the market for my money are the Nissan Stainless steel thermos sport water bottle. I have had mine for quite a few years. They are for cold water only and have a rubber casing on the outside of the bottle so if you leave it in the sun in the car they won't get hot and you won't burn your fingers. Unfortunately they have discontinued the sports style, which is so versatile.They fit on my bike,I can carry it in my purse etc. Maybe if alot of us wrote requesting these just maybe they would start manufacturing them again.
Does anybody know about the safety of homemade popsicle plastic molds, is there a danger of plastic leaching harmful chemicals into the frozen juice?
I have been searching for a company that sells glass water bottles and have found several but the all seem to have metal or plastic lids. How do I know which metal or plactic lid is safe to use. None of the manufacturers disclose the actual material of the lids. Does anyone know where I can get a glass water bottle with a safe lid??????????
i love to reuse my glass voss water bottles, but i have broken one too many on my tile floor... trying to find a neoprene cover for the thing. i am convinced that then, my life will be perfect. please help!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Sab | February 28, 2006 at 06:46 AM