The Process of Recycling Plastic Water Bottles

Even if consumers started recycling the majority of single serve water bottles, the widespread use of these containers would still pose a serious and expensive environmental challenge.

The Recycling Chain

Storage: When you use single use water bottles at home, it's likely that you keep some type of plastic recycling container in your pantry or garage. Producing these containers requires energy and can result in the emission of harmful chemicals into the air and water supply.

Pickup or Delivery: If you have curbside recycling pickup, a large truck that uses a significant amount of fuel is dispatched to your neighborhood on a set schedule to pick up plastic containers for recycling. Building and running these vehicles uses a significant amount of energy and fossil fuels, and they produce pollutants when in service. If you don't have curbside pickup, you're responsible for transporting recyclables to your community's recycling center, which uses fuel and energy.

Processing: More transportation, and the associated fuel and energy consumption, is required to transport recyclables to a processing facility. At the facility, several types of heavy equipment must be operated to convert the waste into a form where it can be reused to manufacture new products, again requiring energy.

The Bottom Line

The process of recycling plastic water bottles actually uses a great deal of energy. While recycling plastic water bottles is a better solution than sending them to landfills, the best solution would be to switch from single use containers to refillable water bottles that can be safely used time and time again.