Is it safe to reuse plastic water bottles? ?

Question

I've heard that one shouldn't use them for storing water. Then what can you do to stop them from going into landfills?

Answer 1

The answer to this is yes, and no.  Generally, reusing plastic bottles, such as dasani and aqufina, a couple times is okay.  However, in an effort to avoid BPA's leaching into your water, do not freeze them, do not store hot liquids, and not leave them in  direct heat (ie. interior of a car on a hot day).  

The bottom of the plastic bottle will have a number inside a triangle.  The number identifies the type of plastic.  All I know is that # 5 is the best and # 7 is the worst!

If you want to reduce plastic bottles filling land fills, buy a water Brita or buy your water bulk and put it into a metal container.  I personally use a "kleen kanteen".  They last forever and they won't leach BPA's.

Answer 2

You can stop them from going into the landfills by not buying them in the first place.  Try a water filter, and use a glass bottle to carry water.  It's heavier, but hey, it burns more calories.  ;-)

Answer 3

You shouldn't reuse plastic water bottles, apparently it causes cancer or something. Yeah. Recycle the water bottles, then get a metal water bottle and refill it. It's better than recycling.  

Answer 4

Plastic is made from oil but dont worry its perfectly safe.

Answer 5

i dont know but i do all the time.

Answer 6

Recycle them!!!

They are ok  to reuse, just don't leave them in the sunlight, can cause the liquid to have cancerous carcinogens. But this is when you leave it in excessive amounts of sunlight all the time. Otherwise its ok. I still reuse mine. If not i recycle them.

Either way, you don't have to chuck em' away!

Answer 7

You're definitely going to die.

We all are, but it won't be from plastic water bottles.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pet...

Answer 8

yes it is, i have this water bottle and i have been using it for at least 5 years

Answer 9

i dont know where you heard this but your obviously overthinking it. The whole world stores water in plastic bottles, theres no crisis going on. Its definately safe, unless your talking like storage for a year or something

Answer 10

just don't buy them in the first place. if you have them and WANT to resuse, do it for a few days, then pitch. don't freeze or leave in the car or heat - this changes the chemicals in the plastic and apparently will kill you after some given amount of time.

bottled water isn't mandated by the FDA or any other goverment agency. the dasani or aquafina people could be bottling cow pee and get away with it. it isn't any better for you than drinking out of the tap, plus you aren't getting the added chemicals (like flouride) that your city may be adding to the water source.

buy a water filter and a reusable metal bottle (check out Sigg bottles - i have had one for about three years and love it)

our zoo offers recycling for plastic bottles - they do some "save the rainforest" thing with them.

Answer 11

There is a lot of evidence that reusing water bottles can be harmful. The best thing to do is not use them. Often the water in them is no more than tap water. If you do get natural spring water, you are likely destroying a habitat. There is a lot of resources used to process the water, make the bottles and ship them to your store. It is also a big expense for something you can get for free. I have a couple different reusable water bottles and I use a Brita filter, they cost a little up front, but I know what's in my water, it taste good and not I'm saving money and not filling up the landfill.

Look around the 3 most common litter items I see are plastic bags, plastic water bottles and cigarette butts.

Answer 12

Recycle them if they are recyclable in your area. If they aren't, fill it with water and put it in your toilet tank. This will save you water every time you flush! ~MaDiSoN

p.s. or, the most green thing would be to STOP BUYING PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES! Instead, buy a water filter like Brita, and filter you tap water. this also saves you money!

Answer 13

No, no. Please don't. The bottled water you purchase is often in PET or PETE bottles, which may leach DEHA, a known carcinogen, if used more than once. The other way is to check the grade of plastic used for manufacturing the bottle.

If you do use plastic bottles made from #1 or #2 plastic try not to reuse them as they are intended only for single use.

If you are using a #1 plastic water bottle, try to consume the contents as soon as possible because leaching of antimony increases with time. You can know the grade of plastic used by checking the labels. Labeling laws of several countries require them to mention this.

Though it is convenient and very common, we need to stop this practice.

Hope this is useful!

Answer 14

yea.recently some factory in pune india,tried to use these plasics as an additional texture provider for laying roads.i do'nt know the exact details but the progress is good enough i read in the papers