LIHU‘E — Ever walk into a grocery store and buy a plastic water bottle?
“Do you really know what you’re doing?” asks Kaua‘i Surfrider’s Fred Voigtel.
Not only are the environmental costs of the bottle detrimental, so are the cumulative health and monetary effects, he said Sunday.
“We’re caught up in the world of instant gratification,” Voigtel said, adding that people do not realize the long-lasting impacts of short-term decisions and actions.
For example, once a plastic water bottle is created, it never biodegrades, he said. “Every bit of plastic ever made still exists.”
The environmental degradation starts even earlier than that. The manufacturing process releases “a lot of hazardous materials and toxins into the atmosphere,” said Zero Waste’s John Harder.
After that, the bottles are packaged and shipped “all the way to Kaua‘i,” he said. Just imagine the energy involved — which translates into dollars here, he added.
Bottled water costs more than gasoline, Harder said. Why would a person pay an “exorbitant amount for water that’s no better than our local water?”
Environmental activist Judie Lundborg said she is concerned about the safety of bottled water versus tap water.
The profit-driven motive is “very troublesome,” she added.
The companies are selling a product which is contained in a plastic bottle made with synthetic materials and “some degree of petroleum” which is a “derivative of oil,” Voigtel said.
It is no coincidence diseases and cancer are so prevalent in a plastic-addicted society, Harder said.
Chemicals can leech into the water from a plastic bottle and, even if only in trace amounts, the cumulative effects can cause serious health problems, he said.
But “the biggest impact” from these bottles — because a lot of them are used on the go — is that they “end up as litter and in the ocean,” Harder said. “The bottles are everywhere.”
The ecosystem has been degraded by plastics, including coral reefs, marine mammals, fish and birds, Voigtel said.
If they are recycled, they won’t be filling up the landfill either, Harder added.
Councilman considered bottle ban
The island generates a “huge volume” of plastic water bottles, said County Councilman Tim Bynum, who has made a “personal commitment not to use disposable plastic bottles.”
There are “strong environmental, economic and personal health reasons to avoid” them, he said.
The trouble is, “we’ve become a disposable world,” he said.
Even though something is out of sight and out of mind, it still exists, said Bynum, who has “thought about and researched” a bill which could potentially ban the sale of plastic water bottles on Kaua‘i.
“At this point, I’m hopeful the state would address the issue,” he said. “It’s something I think would be appropriate.”
Though Harder said he would “rather not ban the sale of water in plastic bottles” because there are instances where it is convenient, “so many negatives” exist that he doesn’t see any other answer.
For folks looking for a way to help out the environment, their health and pocketbooks, reusable bottles are the way to go, just like bringing “our own bags” to the grocery store, Lundborg said.
“Think ahead,” Harder said. People going to a sporting event or hiking should plan on taking reusable bottles filled with tap water.
Resort ‘beta-testing’
The Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa is involved in “reducing the number of water bottles people buy/use/toss while on vacation,” said the Po‘ipu resort’s public relations manager, Diann Hartman.
Their “standard” used to be to provide 12-ounce bottles of water in every room, which “adds up to a lot of plastic water bottle waste,” she said.
The company is “beta-testing” a section of the hotel by placing reusable plastic water bottles in guestrooms. The resort has also installed a “purified water machine next to the ice machines so people can fill their water as they need,” Hartman said.
“If you choose something better for the environment, in the long run, you will save money,” Voigtel said. Natural resources will be preserved, costs to increase landfill space will be saved and Kaua‘i’s tourism would not be impacted because individuals are not interested in visiting polluted places, he said.
“People have to look at the big picture,” he added.
It’s a matter of “changing our mindset,” Lundborg said.
Kaua‘i can do its part to “help keep the Earth a better place,” Harder said.
To learn more about the impacts of plastic water bottles, the movie “TAPPED” will be playing at various locations across the island. See sidebar for more information. Visit www.tappedthefilm.com to learn more about the movie.
Showtimes for ‘TAPPED’ movie
6 p.m., Wednesday, at the Kekaha Neighborhood Center, 8130 Elepaio Road
6 p.m., Thursday, at the Hanapepe Neighborhood Center, 4451 Puolo‘o Road
3 p.m., Saturday, at the Koloa Neighborhood Center, 3461 Weliweli Road
6:30 p.m., April 22, at the Kapa‘a Library, 1464 Kuhio Highway
3 p.m., April 24, at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, 4480 Papalina Road
6 p.m., April 29, at the Waimea Neighborhood Center, 4556 Makeke Road
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
