Whether it’s from a desire to avoid high-calorie beverages or a mistrust of water fountains, bottled water consumption has skyrocketed in the United States over the last couple decades. Sales are now a whopping $16 billion per year. In fact, Americans now consume more bottled water than soda! The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) points out that plastic water bottles are convenient, portable, transparent, surprisingly rugged, and of course, inexpensive.
Convenient though bottled water is, there are downsides. It’s a whole lot more expensive than tap water and tap water is usually perfectly safe to drink — some bottled water is actually filtered tap water. Making the plastic involves petrochemicals and this presents environmental problems and puts more pressure on oil supplies. Plastic can last a very long time, practically forever. That’s not so good if a used bottle is going to end up in a dump. Putting plastic bottles in trash incinerators can release toxic gasses. The good news is that many plastics are recyclable and in the future there may be biodegradable plastics. Perhaps this is a strong argument in favor of using non-disposable water bottles; and indeed, you may have noticed there are more and more water fountains out there that have a spigot for filling bottles.
One dog owner decided that there was a fun way to give a bunch of water bottles a second life: turn them into toys! His beagle Maymo loves plastic water bottles. In the video posted below, you’ll see Maymo knock down a pyramid of 210 bottles he’s just been given as a Christmas present. He runs and frolics through the bottles before getting down to the business of selecting one to chew on. Maymo probably doesn’t appreciate the Santa had he’s been forced to wear, but if that’s the price of getting such a great Christmas present, so be it.
How did you like the fun way this dog’s dad found for reusing plastic bottles? Do you do any creative recycling? Let’s hear from you in the comments at Facebook and be sure to like and share!
