How many times is it safe to reuse plastic water bottles that come with most bottled water?

Question

I want to recycle as much as possible but I've heard there is a limit on how many times you can safely reuse them before they start to break down.

Answer 1

I would wash it using Tap water every day. It can do about a weeks worth.

It sounds really 'dirty', but I do it to save the world :D

Answer 2

If they are breaking down you'll probably taste it.  I reuse alot of those 20-30 times and just notice mold or mildew inside and if I can't get it washed out that's when I recycle it.

Answer 3

When they start selling water at half price like yesterday's baked goods, then I'd start to worry about it. But there's no expiration date on bottled water  - so it will probably contain fewer contaminates if you dump out the expensive bottled water that's been absorbing the plastic's contaminates for months and refill it with fresh water. The water they put in the bottle is usually plain tap water to start with. Remember this is a multi-billion dollar industry based on marketing and consumer ignorance. It also results in a high environmental impact because of all the oil used in making the plastic, transporting the water, and the unrecycled bottles.

Answer 4

Both answers on the bottom are good. Clean them properly but only use them a couple of times.

Now if you want to reuse a bottle more than you are now. I recommend you buy an actual water bottle and refill it with fountain water or from your fridge, instead of buyin those large 12 or 24 packs of water which is probably an inecessary expense in the first place. those sturdy thick water bottle can be washed in dish washers and are not very expensive. If you see one that has a very cool design and what not and its over $15, its still a better buy than the cheap bottled water in the long run.

Answer 5

Is it Safe?.............. From Rolf Halden, PhD, PE, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Center for Water and Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. First, people should be more concerned about the quality of the water they are drinking rather than the container it's coming from. Many people do not feel comfortable drinking tap water, so they buy bottled water instead. The truth is that city water is much more highly regulated and monitored for quality. Bottled water is not. It can legally contain many things we would not tolerate in municipal drinking water.

Having said this, there is another group of chemicals, called phthalates that are sometimes added to plastics to make them flexible and less brittle. Phthalates are environmental contaminants that can exhibit hormone-like behavior by acting as endocrine disruptors in humans and animals. If you heat up plastics, you could increase the leaching of phthalates from the containers into water and food.

Alternates to bottled water is on my october newsletter:

http://www.eclipsespa.com/newsletters/07...

Answer 6

i think  you can reuse bottles but  If you want to re-use that bottle - a few times - wash it with hot soapy water in-between fillings. Don't forget to wash the cap and inside of that narrow neck. Never try to wash it in the dishwasher; the plastic is not designed to handle the high heat.

Answer 7

I think it would be better to buy a water bottle because I heard plastic bottles release some sort of chemical if you use it too much.

Answer 8

Well with my experience with reusing plastic water bottles, I would use it atleast 2 to 3 days  before it starts to break down on me.