Drinking bottled water seems like an easy out – it’s convenient and portable.  You don’t have to worry about getting filtered drinkable water from your water softener. Unfortunately, as we’ve discussed in previous blog entries, bottled water is a huge waste of money and resources.  It’s expensive, it often leaches chemicals from the plastic container, and it creates a big environmental problem.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I see people with big disposable water bottles when they could easily carry a reusable bottle instead. This happens a lot at the gym – people bring water for their workout and then throw the bottle away afterwards. I will confess, for awhile I was one of these people. Before I came to work at LifeSource, I simply didn’t know any better.  Luckily for me (and our planet), being at LifeSource taught me the value of reusable water bottles.

Reusing a water bottle is the perfect way to help the environment and your wallet. It costs way less to pay once for a refillable bottle instead of constantly paying for a case of disposable bottles.  If you do your research and purchase the right kind of bottle, you won’t have to worry about the chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), that is widely associated with plastic.  This chemical compound has been declared “toxic” by Canada, and it’s known to mimic the effects of estrogen and cause cancer. BPA is especially dangerous when exposed to heat – so leaving your plastic bottle of water in a hot car and then drinking from it is really unsafe to do.
 
As knowledge of BPA and bottled water waste grows, more companies are creating eco-friendly, BPA-free reusable water bottles. LifeSource has one of these bottles, available for purchase on our website.  Nalgene, a popular reusable bottle manufacturer, also offers a large variety of BPA-free containers.  Not all of their containers are BPA-free, so make sure you see it noted on the bottle itself.

It’s important to note that a lot of aluminum bottles also have BPA in them, so be careful to choose a stainless steel bottle that has been marked as BPA-free. One great metal bottle is produced by Kleen Kanteen. Made with food grade stainless steel, these bottles don’t leach toxins or chemicals.

If you don’t want a BPA-free plastic or stainless steel bottle, you might look into a glass reusable bottle. Takeya bottles are eco-friendly and have a silicone jacket on them to provide a soft grip and protective layer around the glass.
 
Are bottles in general too cumbersome for you? Maybe you enjoy the convenience of getting rid of a disposable bottle as soon as you’re finished so that you don’t have to lug around an empty container? If that’s the case, you might be interested in Vapur bottles. Advertised as the “anti-bottle,” these reusable BPA-free water containers can be folded, flattened, and tucked away when empty.

These are just a few of many great eco-friendly reusable bottle options to choose from.  The easiest way to refill one of these bottles, of course, is if you have filtered water flowing from your tap. The LifeSource Whole House Water System connects to your main water line and provides clean, great tasting water to every faucet in your home.  It’s never been easier to reuse a water bottle!