Plastic Water Bottles: To Reuse or To Recycle?

Climate change and global warming are just some of the most pressing matters that resulted in the government and various organizations to advocate the motto “Reduce, reuse, and recycle.”

There are countless items any person could easily reuse or recycle. Among the most popular objects reused include PET bottles or plastic water bottles, and paper products are one of the most recycled items all over the world.

Recycling is completely supported, if not encouraged, by the city of Vancouver garbage collection. As a matter of fact, numerous recycling stations were set up for almost every city or location where locals can deposit recyclable materials.

However, even when the city of Vancouver garbage collection department has the best interests in promoting recycling, many argue that reusing old items is remarkably better than recycling them.  The reason for this is that for an old item to be recycled, it undergoes a recycling process wherein energy is used up. As may be expected, reusing is usually preferred over recycling since reusing only calls for a person to use an old item once more – no re-production or re-manufacturing process necessary.

While reusing of items can be better than recycling, there are some cases when recycling would still be your best bet.

Not long ago, there were reports that have circulated stating that reusing or refilling plastic bottles may be harmful to your health – there is even some talk claiming that repeated use of water bottle can cause cancer.

The good thing is, numerous research from varied sources have debunked these claims.  It was discovered that with proper handling, plastic bottles can be safely used again for drinking.

Although plastic water bottles may be reused, it is crucial for people to ensure that the bottles to be reused are properly cleaned. Proper cleaning entails washing the bottle with warm, soapy water after every use.

But, even when washed carefully, plastic water bottles can’t be reused ‘til the end of time. When repeatedly washed and exposed to hot temperature, plastic materials might deteriorate and can have cracks where bacteria could thrive in, unseen. If you want to go for a bottle with the longer lifespan, choose PET bottles. These PET bottles can be used for a longer period than ordinary plastic water bottles but would still have to be thrown away in the long run.

So, since there would come a time where you would still have to let go of your plastic or PET bottle regardless of how much you clean it, the most environmentally-friendly choice you have is to use drinking bottles specifically made for reuse – glass bottles or stainless bottles.

Simply put, in the end, you would still have to recycle your plastic or PET bottles; so it’s more logical to have it recycled straightaway instead or reusing them.