It is estimated that Americans alone use 50 billion (that’s 50,000,000,000!) water bottles every year. It’s great that we are drinking all that water our doctors are telling us is so good for our bodies. But, the recycling rate for water bottles is a measly 23%. 
That means that 38 billion water bottles are being thrown away every year in this country. That level of waste is staggering and unnecessary when water bottles are made from a very valuable resource (#1 PET plastic) and are recyclable in virtually every curbside and drop-off recycling program across the country. Additionally, there is a false notion that bottled water is somehow healtier to drink than tap water when in fact, federal regulations require frequent testing of tap water, unlike the testing requirement with which the bottled water manufacturers must comply.
So, what should you do? Reduce, Reuse and Refill!
Reduce: quit buying bottles of water–tap water is much cheaper and just as healthy
Reuse: get yourself a plastic (BPA free, preferrably), glass, stainless steel, or aluminum bottle and use it over and over
Refill: fill ‘er up and drink it down
To help educate the community and do our part to reduce water bottle waste, the District is debuting its new portable water bottle refill station this week at the Henricks County Fair. We are pleased to again be one of the organizations represented in the Hendricks Power Expo Hall. Come see us in the northwest corner of the building and refill your water bottles to stay hydrated at the Fair. We also have a limited number of 27 ounce, stainless steel water bottles that we are giving away to those that sign up for our e-newsletter. (If you are already a subscriber, stop by and see us anyway…)
