Nalgene Plastic Water Bottles Eco Product Review

Nalgene sent me a lot of their bottles to test, seven in total. Reusable bottles are a great alternative (we’ve previously looked at SIGG) and these plastic bottles represent many different styles and uses so it was great to test them.

From left to right in the image below we received two 32oz wide mouth HDPE Retro bottles; Oasis Loop Red Top; Loop Top - Sunny Yellow; pink ATB Bottle; OTG bottle; and a Loop top.

As you can see the bottles vary quite a lot. All are extremely durable, resistant to staining, resistant to retaining odors, dishwasher safe (top rack only) and guaranteed leak proof. The wide mouth bottles didn’t really appeal to me, though are much easier for getting ice into them, and can be hand washed easily. The other narrower bottles really have to go in the dishwasher to get properly clean. Our favorite is the OTG bottle that does not leach any taste, is a handy size and very sturdy. It probably looks the best out of them all, and can be opened with one hand.

It’s a tough choice to choose a reusable water bottle these days. Which ones leach, which ones don’t, is plastic reusable OK, or are aluminum or steel bottles better? What is the cost of manufacture compared to “disposable” plastic bottles? I think it comes down to a personal choice, and depends what you use them for - the plastic ones are lighter and more ideal for sports (such as fitting in bicycle cages or graduations for measuring energy supplements), whilst I think for walking/hiking the metal ones are perhaps sturdier. For day-to-day work and the like then pretty much pick whatever you’re comfortable with. Nalgene certainly have a massive range of styles, shapes and colors from which to choose and see what you like.

The bottles range from $6 and more and are available in many, many different styles and colors from Nalgene.

SIGG Aluminum Water Bottle Product Review

The reduction in the use of plastic bottles in our lives is an aim I think most of us share. It’s all too easy to pick up a new plastic bottle of water rather than carrying your own, over 100m in the US alone are ending up in landfills every day. There are a few schools of thought, using aluminum bottles, steel bottles or corn based biodegradable plastic bottles (with or without a water filter). This review looks at one of those choices, a SIGG aluminum water bottle.

It’s an aluminum bottle. That’s pretty much it, it carries about 1 litre of liquid and does a fine job of it. At about 22.5cm (9 inches) in height, not including the cap (more about them in a minute) it’s a decent size to use on a walk, picnic, or gym, and just about fits in an average car cup holder. The bottles are fully recyclable at the end of their, probably long, life.

Who are SIGG? SIGG Switzerland dates back to 1908 when metal processing specialist Ferdinand Sigg established an aluminum product factory about 30 kilometers outside of Zurich. Still manufactured in Switzerland, they’ve been called the world’s toughest water bottles. Available in 144 designs with 22 bottle lids, some of the bottles are also displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. SIGG is also a member of 1% For The Planet - donating 1% of all sales to helping to preserve our environment.

What about leaching? Steel bottles do not usually leach, that is they don’t make the liquid inside taste of metal. Aluminum bottles do, so therefore need a lining, with SIGG’s being a water-based, non-toxic coating that is baked into the interior walls and remains flexible and crack resistant for the life of the bottle. The lining is taste neutral and resistant to fruit acids and energy drinks, and though it is FDA approved it would be nice to know generally what it’s made out of.

How as the bottle? I’ve had the bottle for a couple of weeks and found no problems with it at all. I like the fact it’s tough and I can throw it if I need to without worry. While using a dishwasher is not recommended as due to the small opening it wouldn’t get clean effectively, it seemed fine to me. The paint might eventually wear off though. There are a variety of caps that can be used, the default screw cap isn’t especially friendly, unless you need to attach the bottle to something, the sports caps are much more convenient for day-to-day use. After refrigerating the bottle can be too cold to hold (being metal and all), though they do sell sleeves and rubber handle grips to help.

An extremely quick video is embedded below, frankly after the written review I wasn’t sure what benefits and features I could show you, so I’ll be honest and say it’s not fascinating, but is short!

Starting at $16.99 to $24.99, SIGG bottles are available from from Amazon and through SIGG themselves. For more eco product reviews, please take a look at our Eco Reviews page.

If You’re Not Out For Valentine’s Day

It’s a repeat (sorry, “encore”) but Six Degrees Could Change The World from the National Geographic is airing tonight (Thursday) on, funnily enough, The National Geographic Channel at 8PM et / 9PM pt. They have a cracking website called Is This Our Future, if you get a chance take a look.

A trailer for the show is embedded below, followed by three brief clips to give you an idea of what it’s about. If you’re reading via RSS, you might have to come here to watch.

Cheaper Grey (Gray) Water Recycling

Previously we’ve talked about Greywater or Graywater and what it is and how to go about using to.

Garden watering bans are a fact of life these days, and not just in dry climes like much of Australia and the Western US, even Britain has it’s fair share too. But a new Australian invention can keep lawns and gardens green without using any extra household water.

The Water-Leech, which retails from AUD$200 is a breadbox-sized device with a universal hose attachment that hooks up to shower or sink drains. Instead of letting grey (gray) water escape down the drain, a pump in the unit draws it into a self-contained storage tank. The pump is powered by a rechargeable battery instead of a wall plug to prevent any possibility of electric shock while it’s in operation. When the Water-Leech tank is full, owners simply wheel the unit outside to water their plants. (Providing biodegradable soaps and detergents are used, water from showers, baths, laundry, sinks and dishwashers is completely reusable.)

Water-Leech inventor Paul O’Callaghan believes his product fills a vital need at a time when environmental experts point with alarm at fast diminishing global water supplies. Though attractively styled and relatively compact, the Water-Leech still might seem a cumbersome way to reclaim water. But competing systems used to collect grey (gray) water must be retrofitted into a home’s plumbing, a task which could cost thousands.

Of course, even in areas without restrictions, the unit’s ability to reuse water can help it pay for itself. O’Callaghan says the average households can conserve 35,000 liters annually, which adds up to a nice way to keep gardens green and help conserve precious drinking water.

[Via: Springwise]

Bottled Water To Be Recycled More?

Forgive the awkwardly phrased headline, but The Independent newspaper in the UK reports there’s been a backlash against the number of plastic bottles that aren’t recycled and pressure is mounting on drinks manufacturers. In fact, one city council (Liverpool) have banned bottled and dispenser water on their premises – saving £48,000 a year, as well as the planet.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released figures showing that sales of mineral water in Britain amounted to 965 million litres last year – up a third from 2001. That’s around £1.6billion worth of bottled water – still small compared to America’s £5.4billion, but still significant.

So has the backlash begun? Partially thanks to a EU campaign and lobbying Congress in the US, both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, who make 55% of the plastic bottles we use, have announced they plan to overhaul their operations to recycle more.

Coca-Cola has announced it plans to recycle all its plastic bottles in the US within five years and PepsiCo’s chief executive has said it needs to do more to recycle.

So they’re reacting to the pressure by the looks of things, despite sales of bottled water going up steadily, but they may see the tide is turning. You can find out more about what Life Goggles thinks of bottled water here.

Calculate Your Water Usage

There is a basic simple tool that can be used to calculate how much water you are using. The BBC Water Calculator allows you to do some simple calculations to work out how much water you’re using or wasting.

Firstly you enter how many people are living in your household. Then you can choose parts of your home to look at.

Garden/Garage - If you have a garden and/or garage you can enter how much watering you do, whether you use a pressure washer and how often you wash your car.

Bathroom - How often you have a bath or shower, and what type of shower is important. How you clean your teeth and the general usage of your toilet (about 4.5 litres per flush) also matters.

Kitchen - This includes dripping taps, washing up, the washing machine and dishwasher.

Once all done, you can calculate how many litres (and buckets) of water you use per day, how much is used per person (compared to the average of 155 litres per day) and a nice pie chart of how your water usage is split up. It’s definitely worth a look.

What Is Greywater (Or Graywater)?

According to our Green Glossary, graywater/greywater is:

“waste water that does not contain sewage or fecal contamination (such as from the shower) and can be reused for irrigation after filtration.”

Graywater Central, from Oasis Design, defines it in a slightly different manner:

“Any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets, is called graywater. Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise 50-80% of residential waste water. This may be reused for other purposes, especially landscape irrigation.”

As part of our 100 ways to save the planet, we recommend the re-use of water, but what are the benefits of using graywater? Again, Graywater Central lists a few:

1. Lower fresh water use
2. Less strain on failing septic tank or treatment plant
3. Graywater treatment in topsoil is highly effective
4. Ability to build in areas unsuitable for conventional treatment
5. Less energy and chemical use
6. Groundwater recharge
7. Plant growth
8. Reclamation of otherwise wasted nutrients

Greywater.com is another great source of information that provides step-by-step information on how to set up an irrigation system, how much water you could save, what to do about pollutants and so on. Do you have a greywater system?

[Picture via Greywater.com]