Bottled water is already bad for the environment since it encourages buyers to purchase single-use plastic products over and over. What's even worse is adding more unnecessary plastic to the mix, but one store in Mississippi is doing just that.
What's happening?
"The way they sell water in Mississippi," one Redditor said, sharing a photo they'd snapped of a display of Niagara bottled water. "Crazy packaging waste."
The photo shows that the retailer removed the bottles from whatever bulk container they came in. However, instead of selling them singly, they were repackaged into lots of four. Each new package used a styrofoam tray for a base, plus cling film to hold everything together, with a "$1" price sticker slapped on top.
"If they just say four bottles for $1, no one would understand," one sarcastic commenter wrote.
"This makes my blood boil," another user said.
Why is excessive packaging important?
Bottled water is already a poor choice. Switching to a refillable water bottle can save you as much as $260 a year (minus the cost of the bottle). Plus, water stored in plastic bottles may be contaminated with chemicals, especially if the bottles have spent any time somewhere warm.
All the extra plastic in these packages just adds to another big problem with bottled water: plastic trash. Plastic lasts for 100 years or more before it starts to degrade. Meanwhile, it sheds microplastics. Recycling doesn't work well for plastic like it does for glass and aluminum, so the best-case scenario for most pieces of plastic in America is that they end up in a landfill.
Is Niagara Bottling doing anything about this?
Niagara wasn't directly responsible for the way its water bottles were being repackaged, but it could do something about the original containers. According to the company's website, however, it has considered and rejected alternatives, including plant-based materials, cartons, aluminum cans, and glass bottles.
While the company claims that plastic is actually the best option for the environment, that is widely known to be incorrect.
What can I do about plastic waste?
Aside from switching to a reusable water bottle, when you choose where to shop, look for stores and brands that use little or no plastic. That includes when you buy water, as plastic-free alternatives to traditional bottles are starting to hit the shelves.
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