What happens if we reuse plastic bottles multiple times?

Just re-using your plastic bottles from super markets might not do the trick.

Even though I have a reusable bottle made of steel, I sometimes forget it at home. Since I am not a camel, going without water for a day seems pretty tough. Despite my ethical motivations, the thought and need for some water then often lures me to the next supermarket.

Generally, I know how bad plastic bottles are, so I justify buying bottled water to myself, by thinking; 'It's not that bad, I'll just use it more than once'.

What I know now, is that this doesn't really work.

Studies have shown that the plastic used for plastic bottles actually segregates over time, leaving harmful chemicals and particles in the water you drink. That means that even the plastic bottle might be relatively safe and passes health standards for emitting chemicals, after some time and refills, this is not the case anymore. So if I reuse plastic bottles to make up for my tardiness, I actually provoke small cracks in the plastic, giving room for chemicals, which I then ingest. You might ask yourself, "if plastic is so durable and never decomposes, why am I ingesting chemicals only by refilling my bottle more than once?"

Well, store bought plastic bottles are just not made to be refilled, but to be thrown away after use. Accordingly, the 'best before date' on water bottles is not meant to give indications about the durability of the water, but of the plastic.

Even PET bottles which are considered relatively safe to drink from might contain Bisphenol A (BPA) and other harmful chemicals after repetitive use. This is because they are recycled from other plastic bottles which may have contained BPA. The residues of these bottles in PET bottles might be considered impurities. However, these impurities will have dangerous effects on our bodies.

Important for the coming summer months; The amounts of chemicals and micro plastics are especially high when plastic bottles are exposed to sun or heat. This is due to BPA (which we talked about last week), which dissolves much quicker from plastic when under heat exposure. Consequently we suggest to not leave plastic bottles in your car or outside at the beach during summer, since this will pollute your water.

Because of the rapid degradation of plastics when exposed to heat, we suggest buying glass bottles with protective frames or stainless steel bottles, which are ideal as reusable water bottles.

Generally, we can all agree that we are better off if we don't even buy plastic bottles in the first place. However, if you must, please be aware of the harmful consequences if you use them multiple times.