Greener Water Bottles - Aluminum and Stainless Bottles Are a Safe Bet

By P Gibbons

We all know that drinking bottled water leads to the creation of vast amounts of waste. Americans alone are adding 30 million PET water bottles to landfills every single day! Much of the plastic that results from recycling pet bottles ends up going unused. Even the manufacturing and transportation of the bottles takes a toll in the form of millions of barrels of fossil fuels being consumed.

Fact is, using a reusable water bottle is good for the environment. But all reusable bottles are not created equally. So what are the choices?

Plastic Bottles. There are many kinds of plastics used in water bottles, and there is a lively debate on which ones are safe and which ones can leach harmful toxins. For the sake of this article I am going to leave plastic off the list for the simple reason that I don't like the taste of water that has been sitting in a plastic bottle for over a day. I like my water to taste like water.

Glass Bottles. Glass is a great choice for taste and it is environmentally friendly. Unfortunately glass is impractical as a portable water bottle so I will leave it off as well.

Aluminum Bottles. Aluminum bottles are usually the most expensive option, but they also come in the widest range of trendy colors and styles. Aluminum is lighter than steel so if you carrying it around you can lighten your load a little bit. Because of the possibility of aluminum leaching into the water, aluminum bottles typically have a liner to prevent any leeching. Some people have reported the lining having an impact on the taste of the water while others do not notice the taste at all.

Stainless bottles are made from stainless steel, a neutral metal that does not leach. Stainless has been the choice for food service items for this reason. The newest stainless bottles are very light and typically have a wider opening that allows for the addition of ice cubes - something to consider on those hot days. Stainless is my personal choice. In my opinion I get the freshest tasting water from stainless and I like the wider opening.

All things considered, Aluminum and Stainless water bottles are both great choices for you and the environment. Your final decision will most likely come down to personal style and "taste."