Zero Waste Tips: reusable bottles in stainless steel

How often, strolling around the city, the countryside or the beach, do you happen to see plastic bottles left on the ground?
Have you ever been caught by a sudden thirst while you were away from home and you had to buy a (too expensive) drink in a pub or bar? Then I imagine you threw the bottle or can (in a trash bin, hopefully) immediately after its first, and only use.
Or again, how many times have you forgotten a bottle of water in the car, hit by the sun, and you noticed that it had changed its flavor?

Every time I leave home, I bring something to drink with me because I get easily thirsty. In the summer I can’t bear the heat and, without my bottle of water, I may feel weak and dehydrated. For years my daily routine consisted of filling up a plastic bottle and bring it with me everywhere, using it until it became opaque, then I threw it in the trash and replaced it with a new one. I didn’t like this method: I kept producing waste and right after a few re-uses the bottle changed the taste of the water. I was also concerned with reading information about the potential migration of toxic substances from plastic to water.

Regarding this, here you can read a study on the health risk caused by Bisphenol A (BPA), published by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses).

To overcome these problems, it is enough to adopt a simple, handy and safe solution: bring with you a reusable steel bottle!

I have been using my steel bottles every day for over two years and I am super satisfied with them!
First of all, they are handy and resistant: mine have survived several falls and trips, squashed by weights and pressed into a suitcase or backpack, they have only small dents and barely visible scratches. They are easy to wash and they preserve the flavor of the drink, without any tainting, the top lid prevents soaked bags and accidental spills. The most important thing is that they are totally safe, being BPA, phthalates, and toxins free.
If you want to adopt this simple change, I recommend two producers who have created very high-quality and incredibly beautiful bottles!

24bottles

I purchased my first bottle in 18/8 stainless steel, the “Urban Bottle Steel” from this Italian company, started in Bologna in 2013.
The capacity of this bottle is of 500 ml, it is 21 cm high, made of a single wall, it is very lightweight: only 116 grams!
It doesn’t isolate much from heat and cold, but 24bottles also has a line of thermal bottles, “Clima“.

I recommend this company because, in addition to its effort to reduce the amount of waste made of disposable plastic, its mission is to make the whole lifecycle of its bottles entirely carbon neutral. How? Through worldwide reforestation projects, this brand is donating oxygen to the atmosphere! Collaborating with Reteclima and Treedom, it is, in fact, planting forests of cocoa, orange, coffee, avocado, and mango trees around the planet!

Chilly’s bottles

The second bottle I bought is from a company based in the UK, Chilly’s bottles.

In 304 stainless steel, about the same size, its volume is lower, 260 ml, it is a bit heavier, 270 grams, but it has double-walled vacuum insulation that keeps the drinks cold for 24 hours and hot for 12 hours, it remains condensation free.

Both bottles are sold in a simple and eco-friendly packaging, in recycled and recyclable cardboard!
They are perfect zero-waste gifts, customizable, in many colors, shapes and different sizes.

But now that you’ve found your reusable bottle, what will you fill it up with?

It may sound like a needless explanation, but I think is necessary to reiterate it because there are odd people out there: it is obviously useless to fill a reusable bottle with water bought at the supermarket in plastic bottles!

There are still many unfounded prejudices and fears about it, but tap water is (almost every time) better than water in plastic bottles. Almost… because in rare cases, near contaminated areas, water may not be drinkable, but a simple check will be sufficient to be informed (data on water analysis must be public and available for each municipality).

During the last year, the European Union has decided to reinstate the directive on drinking water, to improve distribution infrastructures, to guarantee higher quality, to reduce pollution and the consumption of bottled water. My country, Italy, is the first nation in Europe for the consumption of plastic-bottled water and third in the world, after Mexico and Thailand, despite our groundwaters are very protected and controlled. Tap water is microbiologically safe because it is treated with chlorine, added in little quantities, irrelevant to health, it is rich in calcium, which fights osteoporosis. Moreover, applying filters directly to the tap, it’s possible to have a good taste or reduce the quantity of limestone.

As an alternative, the “Water houses” are gradually spreading everywhere: they are distributors where you can fill your reusable bottles for free or at a minimum cost (on average 5 cents a liter), where obviously the water is analyzed and safe.

In both cases, we will do something good for the environment and save a lot of money during the course of the year!

When we drink we do not think about it, but to produce a bottle of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), fill it with water or another beverage, transport it and keep it cool, we need an energy equal to about two thousand times the one required to obtain the same amount of water from a tap connected to the aqueduct.

Our daily choices have the power to improve our lives, to respect the environment and turn the world into what we would like it to be!

My posts are NOT sponsored by anyone. I choose and talk about products and alternatives that changed my life for the better and that respect the environment. On my blog, you will never find articles about something I do not firmly believe in or that I have not experienced in person. I do it for passion and love for nature.