It’s no surprise that plastic recycling is one of the greatest challenges we face today. Plastic bottles can take hundreds, or even thousands of years to biodegrade; and some, like those made from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), never biodegrade at all. This takes up humongous amounts of space in landfills and can wreck oceans, choking sea-birds and other marine life alike, as they often mistake plastic pieces for food.
When one also considers that 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed in order to produce these bottles every year, and then even more fuel and energy is consumed transporting them as a product and then back as waste, the impact becomes obvious and clearly needs addressing.
However, there are so many ways in which we can all positively impact plastic recycling which make the fight against this type of pollution, and the goal of a greener future, one we can win. By recycling plastics properly, reusing bottles and aiming to cut down on the amounts of plastics we use a small effort can go a long way.
However, wanting to take it a step further, Graeme Glen, an inventor and business man based in Japan, has come up with a way for people to reuse their plastic water bottles up to 120 times. The portable device is called WaterBean and offers a simple yet effective way to combat the growing problem we face with plastic pollution.
Around 75% of plastic bottles don’t get recycled, the majority of those are from selling bottled water, causing 1.5 million tonnes of plastic per year, which on average means we use up 167 bottles per person, ever year. Moreover, Glen found that 40 percent of the water bottled is actually just filtered tap water.
His invention, the WaterBean, allows you to reuse the bottle and filters the water you put in it. Its ergonomic design means it starts off life as a bean shaped small water purifier that gradually expands inside the bottle, held in place by a spring. With a shake and a swish of the bottle the filter activates purifying the water, giving the consumer that fresh water taste as if it were store bought, but at a fraction of the cost. This allows people to be environmentally conscious about plastic recycling whilst also saving them money at the same time.
More immediately there’s also the health of consumers at heart here. Reducing pollution to our planet is better for us all anyway, but by buying into this product, a consumer makes a conscious decision to drink more water, something which experts say we don’t do enough of, and stave off the sugary and highly caffeinated drinks that are so widely accepted as the norm in an everyday routine. Glen even goes as far to state that his product can prevent unhealthy addictions to these other drinks.
With filters being reusable and lasting up to three months, coming in bright colours and selling for around £10, a consumer can feel comfortable purchasing a WaterBean knowing that they’re buying a product that lasts whilst also adding a new, fun and efficient element to an everyday necessity.
By Benjamin Rushton
Looking to recycle plastic? Take a look here