How To Choose A Safe Reusable Water Bottle.
Aside from staying home and drinking tap water out of a washable glass, the best way to be “green” while on the go is choosing your water bottle wisely. From the lowly single-use-only plastic water bottle you can buy at your local gas station to the stainless steel and aluminum options, making the right choice is important in maintaining both your health and the health of the environment!
The worst kind of water bottle is the kind that you only use once – the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle that you find in grocery stores, gas stations, etc, that is used for water, soda and juice. This kind of plastic has been proven to leach DEHP (Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) after repeated use and is a probable carcinogen. They can also harbor bacterial growth inside any cracks and crevices inside the bottle, which cannot be too good for your health either!
Next to the regular old plastic bottles we see everywhere, probably the most common would be your typical bottle as seen here. These plastic bottles, commonly used by exercise buffs and campers, are made out of thermoplastic polymers that usually goes by the name polycarbonate. However, it’s not just water bottles that are made out of polycarbonate; CD’s, iPods, sunglasses, and computer shells are also made of the material. Thankfully though, we don’t normally chew on CD’s or computers because polycarbonates have been proven to leach BPA, a synthetic hormone that can mimic estrogen and cause prostate cancer. Even scarier is the fact that most baby bottles are made out of polycarbonate, and when you heat up milk in them to feed your baby, the BPA could be leaching in at an even higher rate than normal. Not good at all, if you ask me!
A much better option than either of the above two would be an aluminum water bottle. A big manufacturer of aluminum water bottles is Sigg (which you can get at Reusable Bags, where we got ours), which claims to make environmentally friendly products. While their older liner was questionable, the new liners are the BPA free EcoCare ones.
The best way to get your daily dose of water on the go, in my opinion, is a stainless steel reusable container. Kleen Kanteen is a large manufacturer of these type of bottles, and you can get them from Reusable Bags. They are made entirely out of stainless steel, which does not leach, is difficult to break or crack, and does not easily stain or interact with whatever product you are consuming. The water always tastes good out of it (at least ours does, and it is Los Angeles tap water!) and it keeps it reasonably cold for a little while when we go hiking or out in the sun. They don’t recommend using them for hot beverages, which is understandable – that’s what a thermos is for.
Ideally, the best way to drink water on the go would be an aluminum or stainless steel water bottle, as they seem to exhibit the least amount of health concerns out of all the choices. Add in the fact that they can be used over and over again with no degradation and do not need to be recycled each time you use one, they really are the “green” choice. And since upwards of 40% of bottled water is actually just tap water in disguise, buying it seems like not only a health risk due to the plastic leaching possibilities, but also a wallet risk due to wasting money on something you already have at home!
You may also like:
- Greenwash Of The Week: Biodegradable Plastic Water Bottles.
- Review & Giveaway: EcoUsable Stainless Filtered Water Bottle.
- How To Choose & Buy ‘Green’ Gutters For Your Home.
- 12 Reasons To Stop Drinking Bottled Water.
- Greenwash Of The Week: Arrowhead Bottled Water Packaging.
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we recently broke down and got a klean kanteen and a smaller one for my stepdaughter. they’re expensive so there’s a certain element of guarding it with your life, but so far i like it a lot. i added a neoprene insulating carrying sleeve to the kid-sized one to keep it cool in the car–a big disadvantage to stainless steel is that it conducts rather than insulating.
i try not to recommend buying additional stuff left and right, and i like to use my consumerist plugs sparingly, but reusable bags sells klean kanteen + insulating sleeve combinations. in this case i feel like it’s kind of worth it to get the best use out of the klean kanteen.
Or you can go No Impact Man-style and use a jar or a glass drink bottle. There’s no worrying about glass leeching toxins, it’s free, and it requires no extra energy to manufacture because you’re just saving it from the recycling bin.
You could Danika, you are right – but I would not enjoy carrying a glass bottle while on a mountain bike or hiking up a hill. For around town, glass works great. But for activities, I would not recommend it!
*sigh* I have to admit that I use the worst type. Mostly because I buy them when I’m unprepared and then get a half-year’s use out of them. But then breathing gives you cancer.
@Mrs.Micah: While the ‘breathing gives you cancer’ attitude is prevalent, it’s not a justifiable excuse to renege on our responsibilities as consumers to demand what’s best for us and our children. I’m not prepared to sit idly by and watch mass lethargy permit the destruction of our beautiful world and health!
The thing is, when you watch a loved one go through years of surgeries and chemo and still be terminally ill, and then you read that pretty much everything (including breathing, depending on where you live) causes cancer, it can be pretty depressing. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to cut down on them and there are a lot of other good reasons to make wise decisions. I’m just saying that I feel depressed about it. I grew up in a chemical swamp (Delaware) and wonder if I even have a chance.
Hi Mrs M – I had no idea that polycarbonate was so dangerous. Thanks for the tip. I wear polycarbonate glasses, so I hope they won’t cause harm (I know that I personally can’t get prostate cancer, but if it can cause one type of cancer it does make you wonder). I’ll certainly be checking it out.
hey, i’ve got an idea. why not take a bottle that water came in and *refill* it over and over again until it gets too gunky. then . . . do the same thing with a different water bottle! you’ve probably got a dozen or so bottles hanging around the house. if not, buying (and then re-using) a few will probably do less to harm the environment than buying any of the fancy-schmancy bottles noted on this site.
what is the problem with that approach? it saves consumers money and decreases the resources needed to produce the molybdenum bottles mentioned here. geez!
Of course you can do that Dan, but read the first item in the post – that’s why you shouldnt do that.
REI now sells only BPA free water bottles – Nalgene and Camelback. They pulled all their water bottles back a few months ago until they were assured they did not contain BPA
That’s good to hear!
I too try not to be extra stuff I don’t need… but I make a big exception here – when it is dangerous to my health, I don’t spare expense in order to get myself something I’m comfortable is healthy and non-toxic – you only have 1 life as well!!
I switched over to stainless bottles a few months back and really like them. Completely stopped buying disposable water bottles and now fill mine up at home and work and the gym and it’s convenient, healthy, and super easy to clean. Plus, no metallic weird taste like you get from drinking out of some aluminum or plastic bottles.
Got a pretty bird feather design on mine, but plenty are out there.
Here’s a quick pic of my bottle:
http://www.brightandbold.com/stbo20ozfe.html
David, the difference between the way you described Sigg’s bottle liner and the way the company rep described it is just semantics. They won’t say whether or not their liner contains BPA (because it’s proprietary information), but they have produced test results demonstrating that the bottles don’t leach BPA. So it really comes down to whether or not you want to trust the company, I guess.
Yes, they did say the liner does not have BPA leeching, but they also altered the ingredients (http://www.ewg.org/node/21491) so that no BPA or even plastic for that matter is in the lining. “The proprietary SIGG bottle lining is a water-based, non-toxic coating that is baked into the interior walls and remains flexible and crack resistant for the life of the bottle. This special SIGG lining is not plastic – it is a micro-thin epoxy” Hope that helps , and if their info was wrong I would love to hear about it!
So, there’s also evidence that aluminum is bad as is stainless steel (although the magnetic kind is better than the nonmagnetic kind) – at least based on Dr. Mercola’s research. They apparently leach toxic metals. Though of course I guess the sigg liners could be safe if you trust them – their Web site claims no leaching. And, I believe leaching is in part caused by raising temperatures.
It does almost make you want to throw your arms up. They have cool rubber sleeves for glass bottles now to prevent breakage – at least an option for non hiking types.
Thanks for the comment G. While Mercola has some valid opinions, I don’t know if I trust everything he says. Also, I am with you on the fact that you just throw up your arms, as there is a plus and minus for almost everything, and there are usually 2 sides to every story. Hopefully all the tests and studies that have shown it is safe are true.
Don’t forget Klean Kanteen is made in China, FYI. If that matters and the company says it vigorously verifies the working and manufacturing conditions on its website. It’s kinda neat to know that the Stainless Steel and alauminum are coming back in style. That’s what was used from the 1800s (they were metal – not sure what) all the way up until the 1950s when plastic started to infiltrate. My old boy scout canteen was stainless steel with an exterior fabric lining for insulation.
I would like to know if ABS plastic is considered safe. My cat’s water fountain is made of this. As well it is made in china. Thanks.
I recently bought a Camelbak water bottle. It claims to be “BPA free”. Here’s hoping it’s better than the current plastic alternatives.
Can anyone advise of a brand of reusable water bottle not made in China?
I recently purchased a Sigg aluminum bottle and after reading that it could leach metal toxins, I also just want to throw my hands up. Who knows if glass also leaches some deadly toxin too? It’s so hard to find a research study on it. Anyone find one?
There hasn’t been a single study or report showing Sigg bottles leach anything at all that I know of. If you crack the lining and crack the bottle, I imagine it would. If you have seen such a report from a reliable source, I would love to see it!
I have a sigg water bottle. I love it it’s not made in China, that i’m aware of anyway. I do have a question though. I’m not sure if there’s a special way to go about cleaning it. Anybody know?
The SIGG i have is made in Switzerland.
clc – there are special brushes made for cleaning Sigg bottles. Check out their website to see where you can get one!
The PET bashing is really getting on my nerves. There has never been a TRUE INDEPENDENT study on PET every. The studies for it have all been funded by plastic companies, while the studies that are inconclusive or against all funded by anti-plastic environmentalist groups looking to ban ALL plastics.
Until I see one INDEPENDENT study by scientists that says otherwise Im still reusing PET bottles.
I also have Klean water bottles. They’re nice, but make a loud sound when you drink. Glass water bottles are the safest way to bottle water. Stainless steel leaches Nickel. I recently had my blood tested for heavy metals and found tons of Aluminum from non-stick pans and my mother’s fillings, and tons of Nickel, from stainless steel.
I have a somewhat different method of being “green” when it comes to water: I simply choose not to carry my own ration of water with me at all times. Contrary to what many people think, this is a perfectly safe option for humans, as biologically speaking, ingesting water nonstop is not actually a precondition for sustaining life. If/when the time comes that I do indeed become thirsty, I am almost always able to obtain water (or some other beverage) onsite at whatever location I find myself, whether home, the office, the park, or even one of numerous commercial facilities that have been set up in our society where it is actually possible to obtain a beverage in exchange for giving them a small amount of money.
This all may sound risky, even daring, and it’s true that using my method there is a chance you may sometimes find yourself having to go, say, as much as 20 minutes without swallowing water. I guess I just like to live on the edge. Anyway, it’s quite doable if you know what you’re doing.
Mason jar. 32 oz. Portable. Easy to fill, easy to pour, easy from which to drink. Durable. Recyclable. Made in the U.S.A. No lead concerns. No BPA concerns.
Only drawback: stupid, repetitive moonshine jokes.
I shopped around and ended up buying five (self + wife, parents, sister-in-law) ThinkSport bottles. Big fan of the dual-walled vacuum sealed stainless. The 26oz is pretty big though – too big even for my oversized cupholders.
Jim – Go ahead, no one is telling you to stop! Plastic is not inherently bad, but if it gets the least bit warm, it will leach into your drink. But have it, use PET if you wish!
Spork – Agreed, glass is best, its just not good for use while hiking/mountain biking. But otherwise, it would be the safest for sure!
Isn’t anyone excited about the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel?
http://www.korwater.com
I think it looks awesome!
What about a good bottle in Europe (Netherlands)? Amazon won’t ship me any Kleen Kanteen’s… and I cannot find the Sigg bottles of 1L with sports top.
bram – my wife had to order a top directly from Sigg, as we could not find them anywhere either!
David – no it wont, thats the point, no one has ever conclusively proved 100% absolutely (or ever 50% for that matter) that yes it will. Even the BPA flack has reared it’s self to be a bunch of hogwash (requiring dosages that would take humans 4-5 LIFETIMES to ever reach to be dangerous.)
Its scare tactics by people with agendas who are now using peoples science fears to scare people into 1800’s thinking.
It’s fine Jim, you can keep using it. But whenever there is even a remote possibility of something being toxic, we do our best to avoid it. When there are proven safer alternatives, why use the one that MIGHT be dangerous. You can take the risk; we choose not to. It’s great being in a free country!
I figured Kleen Kanteen + Sports cap does NOT combine well because drinking goes slow and with alot of effort. Yet they have really large (1,15L) bottles.
So 2nd option is Sigg but sport models dont go over 0,750L. I really wish for 1L or more, I drink hell of a lot.
For the meanwhile Ill be hoping to catch some 1L+ good quality bottle but Im expecting this to take quite a damn long time. I also went to the store her locally, they said they cannot even get big bottles anymore, theyre totally out of style these days, the shop owner told me.
Oh well, any other possible suggestions?
Back to the topic of cleaning…are all of the examples mentioned so far (aluminum, stainless, poly-whatsit, Kleen, Sigg, etc.) dishwasher safe?
Tom – Stainless is dishwasher safe, but we wash our Sigg in the sink with soap and a long soft brush. Hope that helps!
Thanks David!
platypus water bladders are my choice.. BPA free… collapsible so it’s easy to store and carry when empty.. no metallic taste.. various sizes, and can be fitted with tube to make hydration system
just get ready for colostomy bag jokes
Why no one thought about GLASS ? a simple bottle of glass ? I also want to say that when you read resin.. is not so distant from you common think as plastic, same costituent, and also what that it mean a resin based on water ? it has no sense for me !!
From wikipedia..
“Synthetic resins are materials with similar properties to natural resins—viscous liquids capable of hardening. They are typically manufactured by esterification or soaping of organic compounds. The classic variety is epoxy resin, manufactured through polymerization-polyaddition or polycondensation reactions, used as a thermoset polymer for adhesives and composites. One more category, which constitutes 75% of resins used, is unsaturated polyester resin. Ion exchange resin is another important class with application in water purification and catalysis of organic reactions. See also AT-10 Resin, melamine resin. Another synthetic polymer is also sometimes called by the same suffix, acetal resin. By contrast with the other synthetics, however, it has a simple chain structure with the repeat unit of form -[CH2O]-.”
So not because you see H2O it means it’s based on water !!
I couldn’t find a 1L Sigg bottle with a sports cap either so, and I know this is a bit bold, I switched the top with a smaller bottle in the shop! I am surprised that Sigg haven’t figured this out yet. It’s just so inconvenient to have to stop and unscrew the top especially if you’re cycling at the time.
Being European I’ve used Sigg for years until visiting the USA many years ago and getting a Nalgene poly bottle. The wide mouth bottles are such a staple and are much lighter than the stainless bottles. Nalgene has launched a range of BPA free bottles that should also be included in this review. It’s much easier to clean a bottle that you can see the inside off.. (A big issue for you swiggers out there)
Don’t give up on your favourite bottle. They have moved heaven and earth to create a new range that deals with the BPA issue – Remember that they started off doing bottles for camping and hiking so they wern’t intended for everyday use.
I hate to be a contrarian here, but the bigger issue is not the bottle, it’s the water you are putting in it. I have been a water quality laboratory director. If you would like some interesting reading, take a look at what the EPA permits in its drinking water standards. Well water and river water are loaded with fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and trihalomethanes (breakdown products from chlorinating all this cr@p). Drinking clean bottled water that may have ppb or ppt phthalates is trivial compared with the impact on your health from drinking tap water out of stainless steel, or anything else.
I prefer a bottle I can see through. Just to check if all is OK in there… no wasps or other stuff I don’t like to drink.
Sonic Charmer and MikeL make good points.
Another thing you have to consider: Don’t get scared when you hear the latest news report that a common consumer item is “toxic.” EVERYTHING IS TOXIC. Everything has a level of toxicity, even water! (Though you couldn’t possibly consume enough water for it to kill you in that manner – you would drown first.) Chemicals come in different quantities and affect you based on how much there is. In fact every chemical has a level (however minute) that actually benefits your body – usually by creating an immunity to the chemical’s toxic affects. (Also, every chemical has a deficiency level – imagine a bell curve with quantity of the chemical on the X axis and increasing benefit to your body on the Y axis. Then a horizontal line striking through the downward slopes. Everything on the curve above that line is beneficial and the two slopes on either side and below the line are deficiency and excessive/toxic.)
So, unless you’re living and breathing these bottles, which you can easily avoid as pointed out by Sonic Charmer, then more than likely these “toxic” chemicals wont harm you and may actually be making YOU stronger!
Now… there is one who is living and breathing these bottles – Earth. So while I want to point out that these bottles wont likely hurt you, they will still be harmful to our planet – but so is mining to get the metal for the aluminum and stainless steal bottles. I imagine glass is less invasive to create from our sands and suggest that you go with that one. I actually have a wood pitcher that I like to drink from. Trees are a renewable resource as long as we remember to… renew them. There may be bacterial worries when drinking from wood, but it feels/tastes good and I always remind myself that I’m covered in bacteria all the time.
Wow. You got SIGG to email you?
My SIGG canteen rusted inside, and I can’t
get the company to respond to me.
The normal round sigg bottles are aluminum with the coating, and the canteens are supposedly stainless. YMMV, but mine rusted inside of 4 months.
Adam – did you buy it from them directly? If so, that’s pretty crappy customer service…
from what i’m reading, some sort of glass bottle with an outer coating of bouncy rubber (to prevent breakage) would work best… somebody get on that!
though when i stop to think about it, most of the water we’ll use to fill up our bottles spends at least some time in plumbing. what’s leaching into it from copper, aluminum, or PVC pipes? yikes.