These days, we are regularly bombarded with messages such as drink more water, reduce waste and pollution, and save the environment.

Although some of the messages may play to what is currently happening in the environment, we can still do more to preserve the earth, and this begins with how we interact with water.

There’s no doubt that water plays an important role in our lives. No wonder it is called “life” – almost everything we do revolves around it. We, therefore, need to pay close attention to our source of water to avoid contaminants.

Contaminants in your tap water

A single glass of tap water may contain various contaminants such as chlorine, pesticides, heavy metals, prescription drugs, and so on. The best thing you can do for your health is to consume clean water. This is why bottled water is the fastest-growing in the world.

Although bottled water is a promising business for the organizations that produce it, it is ecologically dangerous to our planet.

Drinking water solutions for your home

You can have clean water in your home and save the earth at the same time. A great place to start with having clean water at home is with a Reverse Osmosis (RO) drinking water system. This system fits under your sink and continuously supplies safe, filtered water that is gotten by turning on the faucet.

By filtering your water at home, you’ll not need to have several cases of bottled water in your store, the pantry, or your refrigerator. That also means fewer trips to the recycling bin with disposable plastic bottles and less waste getting into landfills.

RO filtered water at home has a great taste, making it easy to drink and cook with. This also offers the added benefit of improving the taste of your juice, tea, coffee, tea, oatmeal, or any other food made with the RO water.

Environmental impacts of plastic water bottles

Disposable, single-use plastic water bottles are the root of the problem. Even though we can recycle plastic bottles, most households throw them away. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reveals that we recycle less than 30 percent of all plastic bottles.

Yearly, the U.S. releases around 29 million tons of plastic bottles end up in landfills. They incinerate 7 million tons of plastics, releasing greenhouse gasses and adding to our planet’s carbon footprint.

To make things worse, most plastic bottles that are not recycled, burned, or dumped in a landfill eventually make their way into the ocean. This is not just an eyesore – it is devastating for marine life.

Unlike paper or cardboard, plastic cannot decompose. Over time, ocean waves might eventually break a discarded plastic bottle into tiny pieces, but it doesn’t disappear even then. It becomes a new marine hazard called microplastics.

What are microplastics?

They are plastic bits smaller than 5 millimeters in length. According to studies, there are between 15 and 51 trillion plastic particles in our oceans.

These bits of plastic smother coral reefs and destroy our ecosystem. Sea creatures can swallow these plastic particles, blocking their digestive tracts and eventually causing starvation and death. A report by The United Nations discovered that plastics are contaminating almost 800 species of marine life.

But it is not only the sea life that suffers; humans are also exposed to plastic toxicity. When fish swallow tiny microplastics, they can become lodged in their flesh. When humans consume seafood, these plastics can be transferred to our body systems.

Also Read: Microplastics can be removed by installing reverse osmosis water filters. Find out how!

Going green

It is easy to drink water in an environmentally friendly way. You can get a freshwater source that doesn’t have to travel before reaching your home – the tap. When you drink RO water directly from the tap in a reusable bottle, you’ll be lowering energy consumption by 85 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 79 percent.

Although some homeowners are cautious about tap water, most high-quality home water filters, such as an RO, can put those worries to rest. Drinking filtered water from the tap is more affordable, healthier, and environmentally friendly compared to bottled water.

Why you should have an eco-friendly RO water filter at home

1. Reduces the dependence on bottled water

Contrary to the popular belief that carrying bottled water is an indication of class and sophistication, it reduces environmental conservationists’ efforts to save our environment.

But despite knowing this, most people decide to continue with this route either because they hate how direct tap water tastes or can’t trust municipal water safety. However, they don’t understand that bottled water is also not 100 percent safe.

Thus, the best solution is to have a RO water filtration system at home, connected inline to your tap. This will benefit your household and the best gift you can give to the environment.

You’ll no more spend much on buying bottled water to meet your family’s daily consumption needs, and you won’t be limited on the amount of water you’ll have to drink because all the sources of water in your home will be safe.

2. Reduces plastic waste

Plastic waste is one of the most dangerous threats to the environment. This is due to the regular consumption of plastic water.

Even though we can recycle plastics, most people are not willing to dedicate their time to this. Most are busy with their schedules to care about having an eco-friendly environment.

3. Lowers petroleum consumption

The whole process of transporting and cooling water bottles needs plenty of energy. If you calculate the number of bottles that depend on transportation daily, the figures will be overwhelming.

Recent studies by the National Statistics show that the production of 1 billion bottles of water takes around 24 billion gallons of oil.

That doesn’t end there! This increases more with the process of recycling those water bottles, and the trend keeps on happening. The amount of petroleum required for transportation also increases.

4. Healthier hair and skin

You can use various filters in your house – one of those is the spa, shower, and pool filters. When you install a whole-house RO filtration system, every outlet will have clean water. By doing this, you’ll get to wash all the sensitive areas of your body, including your hair and skin, with clean water.

How fresh the water is can significantly impact the overall appearance of your hair and skin. For instance, if your water is dirty, your skin might get itchy, develop coloration, or get dry.

Conclusion

We can get the water we require and still be environmentally responsible; you need to invest in a RO water filter system because tap water fixed to a RO is significantly cheaper and more environmentally friendly than bottled water.

As advised by professionals, drinking eight glasses of bottled water per day for a year will cost more than $2,000. But when you drink the same amount from the tap through an RO water filter system, you might pay about 73 cents for the entire year.

Installing a home water filtration system can change your whole lifestyle and make you and your family less dependent on bottled water. You help by limiting water wastage and conserving the environment and save money and ensure the efficiency of the water you use.


This article was originally published in Dec-2020 and was last updated in Oct-2021

Author: Mark

Category: Drinking Water