You may have heard about the three “R’s” - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle…well now you can add a new word “Refill,” to your recycling vocabulary. Why is “refill” important? Because each year millions of water bottles are polluting our Earth. If you refill a water bottle instead of buying one, you can help keep our streams, oceans and the earth clean and reduce the amount of waste dumped into our landfills. Got questions? Ask away…

What if I recycle my bottle… Isn’t that doing my fair share?

If your only option is buying a new bottle, than please recycle it. But there are also costs and pollution associated with creating that bottle, transporting the water to it, transporting the bottles to the store, then transporting the recycled bottles to the recycling center. You could reduce all that pollution with just one step…bring your own.

Won’t they just keep bringing the bottled water to the stores anyway, no matter what I do?

If enough people stop buying the bottled water, they will reduce how much they bottle and bring to the stores, so tell all your friends, family and the teachers at your school. You could start by spreading the new “R” word…. Refill!

Bottled water is not expensive and it’s much healthier than soda, so why shouldn’t I ask my parents to buy it for me?

Ask your parents if they realized that bottled water can cost as much as 10,000 times more than tap water (according to the American Water Works Association). If you drank just one bottle a day (at 75 cents per bottle) …you would spend $267 per year on drinking water. Do you think your parents would like to save that money? What would you do if you had an extra $267? Consider buying a water container that is washable and refillable. It’s a much better deal.

Isn’t bottled water healthier than my house’s tap water?

No, the government sets the standards for water safety and the US water quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency for tap water are more stringent than the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water. You might also be surprised to know that some bottled water is simply filtered tap water.

How much waste can one water bottle create?

According to the Container Recycling Institute, Americans are consuming water from disposable plastic bottles at a rate of more than 70 million bottles each day and more than 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away. Most end up in landfills or incinerators, and millions litter America’s streets, parks and waterways.

For more information on how important it is to “Refill,” check out these websites:

container-recycling.org
In addition to in-depth information on the problem of water bottle waste, this site has a counter that constantly totals the number of plastic bottles being thrown into our landfills so far this year. You’ll be surprised how quickly that counter turns!

drinktap.org/kidsdnn
Did you know that 1500 years ago the Egyptians recorded how to clean water? Learn about this and more fun facts about water at this site by the American Water Works Association.

epa.gov/kids/index.htm
There’s always something fun happening at the Environmental Kids Club! With an art room, a science room, and special links for elementary, middle and high school students, there are activities designed for every age. The site is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.


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