Blog Assignment #2

Plastic Water Bottle Pollution:

Problem narrative:

The United States consumes more bottled water than any other country in the world.  As a whole, the U.S. purchases over 29 billion bottles every year.  In 2006 the average American went through 30 gallons per person every year, an increase from 1.6 gallons per person in 1976, according to the Earth Policy Institute.  Only 13 percent of all these bottles are ever recycled.¹   For a comparison there are enough plastic water bottles discarded every week to wrap around out beautiful planet Earth five times.²  This plastic can either be left to decompose, which takes years and years, or incinerated, which creates byproducts that are released into the atmosphere as an entirely new type of pollution.¹ 

These water bottles can cost the consumer anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more than the cost of tap water.  In comparison tap water costs only $0.002 per gallon.³  Moreover, water bottles requires millions of barrels of oil per year from its production to transportation, releasing thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Annually, 17 million barrels of crude oil are used just to produce the bottles; this is equivalent to the amount of fuel to keep 1 million vehicles on the road for approximately 12 months.   On top of all this, 50+ million barrels of oil are used annually in order to transport, pump, process, and refrigerate these bottles.¹

1.      http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/water-bottle-pollution-2947.html?source=glhottopic

2.      http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/learn/common-misconceptions/

3.      http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/water/

Behavior over time:

While some attempts have been made to “go green” and get more individuals to recycle, there has been only a slight increase.  However, there are many more plastic bottles being produced than recycled, hence the amount being recycled is slowly decreasing.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/progressiveinvestor.issue/id/76

              

In order to produce plastic water bottles, billion of barrels of crude oil are needed in order to produce, transport, and keep plastic water bottles.  As the production of plastic water bottles increases, this energy required also increases. 

http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/purchasing_guides/bottled_water_university_edition/social_environ/

Relevance of a systems perspective:

The issue of plastic water bottle pollution has been around since the very first plastic water bottle was produced and commercially used.  As plastic water bottles are increasingly advertised, more and more individuals buy these plastic water bottles.  As the production and consumption of these plastic water bottles increases, the amount of crude oil used and the amount of plastic water bottles that result in pollution increase.  The amount of plastic water bottle pollution is on the rise and will continue to exist until there are more reusable water bottles utilized than there are plastic ones and there are just as many plastic water bottles recycled as there are used.   

While there have been various “go green” activist groups to try and decrease the amount of pollution from plastic, most consumers of plastic water bottles have not actively participated in the act of recycling.  Activists are concerned for the welfare and future of our environment; regrettably, most plastic water bottle consumers are either ignorant to the effects and amount of pollution or it is “inconvenient” for them to recycle.  Water bottle producers have very little interest in recycling; companies are more interested in making a profit.  Efforts have been made to create and advertise for reusable water bottles and water purifiers.  Unfortunately, these efforts have been mute in comparison to the ever increasing amount of plastic water bottles that end up in bodies of water, landfills, and everywhere in-between.

   

Study objective and questions to be addressed:

By producing this analysis on the pollution of plastic water bottles, I hope to catch the public’s attention in hopes of increasing the amount of recycled plastic bottles.  If policy makers are pressured by “go green” activists and the general public, there may be an increase in recycling.  Any increase at all would be beneficial for the environment.   If the government paid recyclers for plastic bottles, just as they do for cans, could this increase the amount of plastic water bottles recycled?   How much pressure would have to be placed upon the government to enact recycling policies?  How much pressure would have to be placed on the general public to recycle more?