The Inefficiency of Plastic Water Bottles

Just one of a few bottle filling stations located around the school.

If you told someone 200 years ago that one day water would be sold in single-use bottles, they would probably be quite surprised. However, today this has become the norm. In fact, last year as COVID-19 safety precautions were taken, a majority of the water fountains were closed at Riley High School and free single-use plastic water bottles were given during lunch. Thousands of water bottles were used throughout the year; however, the school does not currently recycle plastic, so bottles have to be thrown away in trash cans. Because most plastic bottles have a lifespan of hundreds of years, it’s plausible that any bottle you have used throughout your life still exists on this planet, in one form or another.

But what exactly is the process of making a single-use plastic water bottle? Most plastic bottles are made from a thermoplastic called polyethylene terephthalate or PET. This plastic is turned into a water bottle through a process of creating a mold, and blowing that mold into the shape of a bottle.

Where do plastic bottles go when recycled? Most plastic bottles are turned into fiber for clothing a majority of the time, but are also used to make more bottles. (Source) Only 50% of what is thrown away into a recycling bin is recycled. You might think that reusing the same plastic bottle might be a good use of the bottle, but did you know that it is unsafe to use a PET bottle more than once? When used multiple times, these bottles can expose chemicals that may be carcinogenic or disruptive to human hormones.

We asked Riley High School Engineering teacher Ben Brubaker for some insight into the usage of plastic water bottles. The biggest issue with plastic water bottles in our school is how we don’t accept them for recycling. According to Brubaker, “The company that collects our recycling does not take plastic. We are only paying for one recycling dumpster and it is paper and cardboard only. We would have to rent another dumpster and pay to have it emptied.” However, many teachers include recycling bins for plastic bottles that they personally have to take home and recycle themselves. The reality with plastic bottles is the problem with recycling. “I do not think the use of plastic bottles is as much of a problem as the lack of recycling of the bottles. Recycling needs to be cheaper and easier for people to actually do it.” Brubaker told us.

Above: A diagram of the process of molding a plastic bottle.

You might have heard of the ongoing problem in Flint, Michigan regarding lead in water and this may lead to concern about drinking water from fountains or taps, but do not worry. According to Brubaker, “The water in South Bend comes from wells. The public water supply is very safe and tested by the Board of Public Works.” Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about dirty water in South Bend. 

You may have seen the many water fountains around the school and the small plastic cups. We use thousands of those cups every week. Robert Pezan, a Riley High School janitor, said that 10,000 of these cups are used per week. This may seem like a large number, but many of these cups fall onto the floor because of the container. Buying these plastic cups in bulk has become quite expensive so the school is looking to replace many of the old water fountains into ones that include bottle filling stations. 

In a nutshell, the problem with PET plastic bottles is that they are inefficient- they are made for single use and a majority of the time aren’t recycled properly. Water scarcity is growing and so is the demand for it. The world population is currently about 7.7 billion and is projected to grow to 9.7 billion by the year 2050, only 29 years from now. (Source) As humans adapt to a changing world, we will need to adopt a new and more efficient way to get, transport, and consume water, a fluid vital to all forms of life.