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As frugal as I am, I do not refill disposable plastic bottles. On rare occasions when I found myself stuck buying a bottle of water, I used to save the empty plastic bottle and reuse it. Not anymore. When I was researching reusable bottles last fall, I came across a Canadian study that had tested water bottles in a school and found that 13% had bacteria levels exceeding drinking water guidelines by the end of the school day. Worse than that, approximately 9% were found to have fecal coliforms. Ugh! Apparently, the children hadn’t washed their hands well before opening and closing the bottles. Even if hands are clean, there are bacteria in your mouth that will get into your drink. After sitting at room temperature all day on their desks, the bacteria had multiplied and the bottled water wasn’t too clean.
With all these germs, it is important to be able to get a bottle clean before reusing it. Disposable plastic bottles are made out of polyethylene terephthalate, PET or PETE for short. There will be a #1 in the plastic resin code triangle on the bottom. They are manufactured for a single use – the plastic is very thin and easily damaged so they are not designed to withstand washing or multiple uses. Getting them clean is also difficult because the top opening is very narrow. They never really get dry.
So recycle that disposable plastic bottle if you have to use one, or better yet, get yourself a reusable bottle like a stainless steel bottle with a wide-opening for easy cleaning!
Over the last decade, I’ve been feeling more and more out of step with my fellow suburbanites. I recently came to the regretful conclusion that I am seriously “old fashioned”. This was not an easy admission since I’m still in my 40s and working hard to stay as fit and mentally capable as I was in my 20s. Flashbacks brought me to my grandmother’s kitchen where there were all kinds of weird things on her drying rack and in bowls by her sink that she intended to reuse or compost. Uh oh, why do I have three plastic baggies on my drying rack and a jar full of rotting fruit and vegetable peels by my sink right now? Am I becoming, not my mother, but my grandmother?
Imagine my relief when I heard Slate writer, Farhad Manjoo, interviewed about the new frugality movement on NPR earlier this week. That’s me, I realized! I’m not “old fashioned” after all – I’m into frugality. I couldn’t wait to get back home and check out the Slate article and its links to frugality groups. I wasn’t surprised to read that frugality is different than being cheap or economical. It is a more deeply held conviction that we can live smarter, less wasteful lives. So, I can continue washing all my reusable bottles and plastic bags, drinking tap water, saving scraps, and using reusable bags at stores proudly now that I know I’m part of a new movement, even if it’s all about getting back to the smart ways of the “olden” days.
