For visual people like me, a video that demonstrates the huge impact that disposable water bottles have on our natural resources can be very unsettling - and very informative.  Periodically, I will share new videos that I find helpful in waging this battle against disposable plastic water bottles.   Please take a few minutes to watch them and share them if you’d like!  The more we know, the more effectively we can speak about this growing problem.

Twenty-First Century Waterfall

Synthetic Sea

A good friend and customer, Kara, called me very early one morning last month with a water bottle emergency. It seems that the Gin & Tonic that she’d mixed in her “fancy Sigg” to take to a picnic was wonderful, but she was having a difficult time getting the lime out in time to take it to work. After various suggestions, we decided that eyebrow tweezers were the way to go. Success.

Feeling very confident in this solution, I happily loaded a big, fat slice of lemon into “Big Pinky” - aka Maha Fusia - at the golf course. It was tasty and satisfying and unfortunately, more difficult than Kara’s. Big Pinky just wasn’t giving it up today - it seems my eyebrow tweezers weren’t up to the task. I’ve now invested in a new set of tweezers that get the job done and will feel confident with stuffing more fruit into my Sigg. Or, using my wide-mouth Guyot or Klean Kanteen!

In May I flew to Florida and was afraid to take my Klean Kanteeen on the plane for fear that they’d throw it out when I went through airport security. This time, I put an empty Sigg in my carry on bag and held my breath. They shook it to make sure it was empty and sent me through. The bar on the other side of security was kind enough to fill it with water - vodka did cross my mind, as I’m a nervous flyer - and we were off to NYC. (My kids packed their bottles in their luggage - they didn’t want to take the chance of losing them in security.)

Hot - high 80’s hot - and humid and I really glad I had it. We’re big on making our kids do a lot of walking through cities so they can experience what they’re really like. You go through a lot of water when you walk 8 miles a day - and at $2.00 - $3.00 a bottle, it just doesn’t add up for me!

Just about every Starbucks we asked was happy to refill at no charge, and most other small restaurants and delis were, as well. Our one “no” came after trekking from Central Park to the Empire State Building. With no working drinking fountain and no refills, I finally broke down and shocked my family by chugging a $3.00 bottle of Aquafina. My second disposable in 8 months.

New York was much cleaner and friendlier than my last visit. Although I didn’t see any way to recycle anything plastic, they did have bins for newspapers and magazines on the street. All in all, I was glad not to contribute to their trash in my own small way - and save money, too!