Water Bottles

By Lisa VanWilliams

After carrying around plastic water bottles for well over 20 years, I have finally made the switch to glass and I am really liking it. We have a water dispenser (stainless steel reservoir), and we are ordering some 5 gallon glass dispensers that we can fill at a local spring in Connecticut for 25¢ a gallon. If we can't make it to the spring, we are having some water delivered to hold us over. The water being delivered does not come in glass but it is higher grade plastic (7). If you ever turn anything plastic upside down, you will notice a symbol on the plastic telling you the grade of the plastic. 1 being the worst, and 7 being the highest quality.  

Here is a site that you can learn more about the different types of plastics and classifications:
http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/lib/different-types-of-plastic.htm

Mountain Valley offers a top of the line glass delivery service but they are expensive. You can view more about them here: http://www.mountainvalleywaterla.com/water-coolers-dispensers.html

The Los Angeles Times did an article in which they stated, "There's a reason wine and spirits are stored in glass: purity of taste. Plastic (and, to a lesser degree, metal) can impart various "flavors" into the liquids it comes into contact with. But that's just one reason that glass is an increasingly popular alternative to plastics and aluminum or stainless steel sport-style bottles."*

Don't forget about harmful BPA's. Make sure your kids aren't drinking out of plastic "Disney" cups made out of China. If they are, try to make it a once in a while thing and not the regular. We received some as gifts, but we try to limit the use on those. 

We went with the Lifefactory brand which was started in 2007 by two founders with a vision, and they ended up creating an extensive health-minded product line. They originally started out with glass baby bottles, but now offer all kinds of products like drinking glasses, and glass food storage. It is a great product for babies as well as because you can start your baby on a nipple bottle and convert the bottle to a sippy cup when they are ready. I picked the 16 ounce glass bottle with straw cap and silicone sleeve for myself. On Amazon these have an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 for reviews, and I agree.

I am drinking way more water than normal. I think it's the ease of using the straw that makes it disappear, and I am refilling this 5-6 times a day. Which is good, it's probably the amount of water I should be drinking. The top is easy to open and if you don't want the straw top, there are a few other options like the flip top or just a cap. They also have a large variety of nice color options. We picked this up at our local Whole Foods. 

Our local Recreational Department recently installed this machine so you can refill  your own bottles and help eliminate our dependency on plastic. I think it's great and I look forward to using these in Public places one day.  

Sources:
http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/29/health/la-he-bottles-20140329
https://www.lifefactory.com/founders
https://www.lifefactory.com/catalog/16-oz-glass-bottles