With great fanfare Dasani, a Coca-Cola company, has introduced the PlantBottle™. In case you didn't know PlantBottle™ -yes it is a trademark- is "an important innovation in the ongoing efforts of Dasani® to reduce environmental impact and advance towards the goal of 100% renewable and recyclable bottles."
It is with great pride and broohaha that the folks of Dasani have now reached 30% (or just short of 1/3 of their stated goal). Not that it matters much of course, because it is truly besides the point.
The environmental damage done by bottled water is not due to bottles alone. Far from it. The bottle is actually a minuscule part of the problem. Even if the folks at Dasani manage to achieve their technological wunderkind, it won't make much of a difference. The key issue in bottled water is with the water itself.
Water is a very heavy substance. Bottling water in small containers and moving those around is the problem. Transporting water is an energy intensive business. Water also has a very high heat capacity. That means it takes a lot of heat to change its temperature. Cooling water and keeping it cool is another very energy intensive business. It is highly polluting in case you did not know. Especially since the same or better quality water is available right from your tap.
Don't fall for Coke's tricks. The only green thing to do is to avoid bottled water like the plague that it is.
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