Reusable Bottles Research Articles

Analyzing knowledge, attitudes and practices around reusable water bottles


 Background: It has been acknowledged that personal reusable water bottles pose hazards, such as disease-causing organisms, associated with poor water bottle hygiene practices. Currently, there are no recommended frequencies or procedures, or guidelines for personal water bottle cleaning and sanitation. Likewise, there is little information on outbreaks or cases of illness arising from poor personal water bottle hygiene. This may be due to lack of awareness and non-reporting of cases. Therefore, the importance of knowledge, attitudes and practices around reusable water bottles cannot be over emphasized. This research study will ascertain if water bottle hygiene practices among post-secondary education students are adequate to avoid consumption of drinking water with growth of multiple pathogenic microbes like Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Pseudomonas species, Vibrio cholera and viruses. Method: 83 participants were surveyed using an in person administered survey method. The survey was conducted on British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) student sample using the Survey Monkey platform and was delivered in person via an iPad at a survey stand. Chi-square tests were used to analyze the survey data using NCSS version 12 statistical package. Tables and bar charts were used to explain and give interpretation to p-values from the chi-square tests. Results: There were found to be no associations between knowledge level around reusable water bottles and either gender or hygiene practices. However, the survey data did show an association between gender and hygiene level. The female participants were more likely to clean their water bottles more frequently than the male participants. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, a health promotion initiative targeted toward male students is recommended to achieve behaviour change in cleaning practices with reusable drinking water bottles. Moreover, despite the study findings showing a high level of knowledge among participants, this did not translate to better water bottle hygiene practices, as there was no statistical association between knowledge level and hygiene practice. Therefore, more frequent cleaning of reusable water bottles should be encouraged, highlighting the appropriate cleaning agents and method to be used.

Fake Meat: Beef's Bottled Water

It should not be a surprise that AWWA discourages bottled water as an everyday beverage. In fact, during their orientation, new employees are told that we opt for tap water and that bottle-filling stations in our headquarters building are available, so AWWA staff can fill their reusable water bottles at the tap—and they do. The friction between tap water and bottled water is familiar and one with a long history. The introduction of bottled water and its convenience by big, for-profit manufacturers was disruptive to those providing tap water and, as we all know, tap water providers do not have the large advertising budgets to level the playing field. None of this is new. But today there is a new attitude toward bottled water, and it's not positive. The fact that bottled water is orders of magnitude more expensive than tap water may no longer be the most powerful argument in favor of tap water. For some time now, purchasers have been concerned about the massive negative impact that discarding plastic water bottles has on the environment, both on land and in the water. The environmental argument is positive for tap water. The trend that reusable water bottles are in vogue, serving as a symbol that says “I care about the environment,” is also a plus. Supporting this trend is the fact that reusable water bottles have greatly improved the ability to keep water cold (or hot, for beverages such as coffee or tea). All of this poses an interesting theory that advocating tap water over bottled water is not to save money but to protect the environment. While environmental concern over bottled water is not new, it certainly is gaining momentum. What may have been overlooked in the past is that the millennials—who are soon to be the largest demographic—are entering their prime purchasing years and they care about a sustainable and environmentally friendly world. This may be the game changer for numerous “green” efforts. Consumer preference battles, such as tap water versus bottled water, are not confined to the water sector. Recently, the introduction of “fake meat” has created quite a buzz. Fake meat is a plant-based product that generally looks and tastes like meat. You may have heard of the Incredible Burger or Beyond Meat products. As bottled water has been disruptive to tap water, so is fake meat to the beef industry. In response to fake meat's emergence and disruption, the beef industry is fighting back. One tactic is to protect the name brand of “meat” by working to block use of the word to describe plant-based products. And while I understand that, I am not sure the word meat in the label is influencing purchasers. For many, plant-based “meat” products provide a tasty alternative to the traditional veggie burger as well as to beef burgers. However, like bottled water, plant-based burgers are currently more expensive than similar beef products. Also, there is disagreement over which is healthier. As this conflict unfolds, we'll be watching to see whether the most convincing reasoning in favor of plant-based “meat” products is that they're more environmentally friendly than beef. According to Impossible Foods’ website, its burger requires 75% less water and 95% less land and generates 87% lower greenhouse gas emissions than a beef burger. But is that enough to motivate purchasers who are traditional meat eaters? Only time will tell. This column is not really about water and meat, as intriguing as both topics might be. Rather, it expresses my thoughts about how innovative market disruption affects traditional and established sectors such as tap water and the beef industry. Market innovations also focus on purchasers’ preferences because these are what ultimately allow disruption to be successful. Further, this column points to the need to gauge how purchasers’ preferences can change and how these shifts drive innovation and markets. Of the market changes that all companies must address, it seems logical that adjusting to the environmental and sustainable preferences of the millennial generation will be important because they will shape markets as boomers fade away. My bet is millennials will select a sustainable environment over lower price. If that is true, it should be a benefit for tap water and not so much for bottled water. By extension, this generational focus could be an advantage for plant-based meats over beef. Even if it turns out that environmental and sustainable preferences do not carry the day for tap water, you can rest assured that AWWA will continue to frown on the use of bottled water as a regular beverage. For those who have the luxury to drink safe tap water, there should be no other choice.

Comparative life cycle assessment of alternative systems for wine packaging in Italy

Due to the great concern about plastic marine pollution, the demand for glass packaging has significantly increased since many people consider it more sustainable than plastic or multilayer packaging. However, evaluating the environmental impacts that occur in all life cycle phases (production, distribution, use and end of life), glass is often the worst packaging alternative. In particular, this study applied the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to compare the environmental performance of the traditional single-use glass bottle for wine with four packaging alternatives (aseptic carton, bag-in-box, refillable glass bottle and multilayer PET bottle) for the Italian market. Primary data about wine packaging systems (weight, size and composition of all components of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging), mode of transport and distribution and disposal scenarios of each packaging system component were provided by the packaging companies, Italian wineries and Italian Packaging Consortia as well as obtained from published literature and technical documents. Life cycle impacts of the wine packaging systems considered were assessed with the ReCiPe 2016 H evaluation method, adopting both midpoint and endpoint approaches. The results obtained highlighted that the most environmentally sound alternative is the bag-in-box, which is slightly better than the aseptic carton. The greater sustainability of bag-in-box and aseptic cartons was essentially due to the composition of the containers, lower packaging weight relative incidence and greater palletizing efficiency. The analysis of alternative scenarios, obtained by the variation of the three sensitive parameters identified (weight of containers, wine distribution distance and packaging disposal scenario), showed that upon decreasing the distribution distance, the environmental performances of refillable glass bottles became comparable to those of aseptic cartons and bag-in-box. These results pointed out that glass bottle reuse in Italy is a convenient alternative only when considering the local market (i.e. for drinks distribution at distances less than 100 km).

Isolation of an antimicrobial-resistant, biofilm-forming, Klebsiella grimontii isolate from a reusable water bottle.

A reusable water bottle was swabbed as part of the citizen science project “Swab and Send,” and a Klebsiella grimontii isolate was recovered on chromogenic agar and designated SS141. Whole‐genome sequencing of SS141 showed it has the potential to be a human pathogen as it contains the biosynthetic gene cluster for the potent cytotoxin, kleboxymycin, and genes for other virulence factors. The genome also contains the antibiotic‐resistant genes, bla OXY‐6‐4, and a variant of fosA, which is likely to explain the observed resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and fosfomycin. We have also shown that SS141 forms biofilms on both polystyrene and polypropylene surfaces, providing a reasonable explanation for its ability to colonize a reusable water bottle. With the increasing use of reusable water bottles as an alternative to disposables and a strong forecast for growth in this industry over the next decade, this study highlights the need for cleanliness comparable to other reusable culinary items.

Hydrate Philly: An Intervention to Increase Water Access and Appeal in Recreation Centers.

IntroductionPrevious interventions to increase water access and consumption have focused on school settings, have shown mixed results on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, and have rarely addressed tap water safety. Our randomized controlled trial examined how improving access and appeal of water in recreation centers in low-income neighborhoods affected counts of SSBs carried by youth attending summer camp.MethodsRecreation centers (N = 28) matched on their characteristics were randomly assigned to control or intervention groups. Intervention centers received a new water fountain with a bottle filler (hydration station), water testing services, reusable water bottles, and water promotion and education training and materials. Primary outcomes were 1-year changes in center-level average daily gallons of water from fountains and hydration stations (flowmeter readings). Secondary outcomes were counts of SSBs observed, use of bottled water and reusable water bottles, staff SSB consumption, and hydration station maintenance.ResultsResults showed increased water use (b = 8.6, 95% CI, 4.2–13.0) and reusable bottle counts (b = 10.2, 95% CI, 4.2–16.1) in intervention centers compared with control centers. No change occurred in youth carrying SSBs at camp, but center staff’s past 30-day SSB consumption frequency decreased (b = −34.8, 95% CI, −67.7 to −1.9). Intervention sites had marginally lower odds of maintenance problems (OR = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.004–0.76, P = .06) than control sites.ConclusionAlthough providing hydration stations along with water testing, reusable water bottles, education, and promotion increased water consumption among youth at recreation centers, it had no effect on the number of SSBs observed during camp. Future strategies to increase water consumption should also address reducing SSB intake.

Microbial assessment of plastic bottles reused for packaging food products in Ghana

Patronage of bottled water in Ghana has increased over the years as a more hygienic source of drinking water. This shift has however resulted in increased generation of waste bottles without any formal regulated management system to handle them sustainably. This has encouraged an informal system which involves the retrieval and reuse of the bottles by market women and small scale local beverage producers for the sale of products such as palm oil, mashed kenkey and hibiscus tea (“sobolo”). The reuse of these bottles for food products for public consumption without any regulated means of sanitizing them is an issue of public health concern. This study therefore sought to determine the level of microbial contamination in used bottles sold in the three major markets (Makola, Kaneshie and Madina) in the capital city of Ghana, Accra to ascertain their safety for use for food products. The results showed presence of Total Coliforms and Faecal Coliforms in more than 60.0% and 40.0% of the bottles respectively. The bottles washed by the vendors recorded higher presence of Total Coliforms (65.3%) and Faecal Coliforms (57.3%) than the unwashed ones (49.3%) and (36.0%) respectively. This could be attributed to poor water quality used in washing the bottles, cross contamination from washing equipment, poor washing technique/procedure and improper storage. The continued reuse of bottles for food products therefore presents a serious public health problem. There is the urgent need for strict enforcement of food safety regulations in Ghana to ensure that packaging materials used by food vendors as well as the mode of treating these materials meet standards that safeguard public health.

Bottled water versus tap water

PurposeBottled water consumption continues to break records worldwide and its environmental impact is often underestimated by the consumer. Many factors affect individuals’ choices to consume tap water and bottled water including perceived health risks and water quality. The University of South Florida (USF) has joined a nationwide initiative to become carbon-neutral, and reducing bottled water consumption was a chosen strategy. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk perceptions and drinking water choices of the USF-Tampa campus community.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 561 students, faculty and staff members responded to an online survey. The survey contained questions about the use of bottled water and tap water, reusable water bottles, risk perceptions and demographics.FindingsThe results revealed that certain groups – undergraduate students and ethnic/racial minorities (e.g. black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) – drank significantly more bottled water. Among political ideologies, Liberals drank the least bottled water. Females and minorities had significantly greater risk perceptions of the tap water on campus. Important perceived benefits were tap water being less expensive and better for the environment than bottled water. Important perceived barriers were poor tasting tap water and the desire for filtered water.Originality/valueThe findings suggest the need for public health campaigns to increase awareness of health, environmental and financial consequences of bottled water consumption. Such campaigns should aim to discourage bottled water and any potential increased sugar-sweetened beverage consumption while promoting tap water consumption.

Viewpoint – Ocean plastic pollution: A convenient but distracting truth?

Ocean plastic is a contemporary focal point of concern for the marine environment. However, we argue there are bigger issues to address, including climate change and overfishing. Plastic has become a focus in the media and public domains partly through the draw of simple lifestyle changes, such as reusable water bottles, and partly through the potential to provide ‘quick fix’ technological solutions to plastic pollution, such as large scale marine clean-up operations and new ‘biodegradable’ plastic substitutes. As such, ocean plastic can provide a convenient truth that distracts us from the need for more radical changes to our behavioural, political and economic systems, addressing which will help address larger marine environmental issues, as well as the cause of plastic pollution, i.e. over-consumption.

A randomized trial of a multi-level intervention to increase water access and appeal in community recreation centers

IntroductionImproving children's tap water intake and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is beneficial for health and health equity, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. Existing community level interventions to improve the intake of tap water have predominantly occurred in schools and have focused on promoting water consumption in cafeterias during lunch or snack periods. MethodsThe “Hydrate Philly” intervention was developed to target multiple environmental and social factors to improve tap water consumption in community recreation centers in low-income communities: replacing old and unappealing water fountains with appealing water-bottle-filling “hydration stations”, conducting water safety testing and publicizing results, disseminating reusable water bottles, promoting tap water, and discouraging SSB consumption. Efficacy of the intervention will be tested through a group-randomized controlled trial (n = 28 centers) of the intervention's impact on center-level water fountain/station use as measured by flow meters during a youth summer camp program primarily for children aged 6–12 years. Intervention impact on the primary outcome (use of drinking water sources) will be examined with a difference-in-differences approach using an ordinary least squares regression model for analysis at the center level. Secondary outcomes include SSBs brought to summer camp, reusable and single-use bottled water use, program trash, and recreation center staff SSB consumption. DiscussionMultilevel approaches are needed to increase tap water intake and decrease SSB consumption among low-income and minority youth beyond school and meal settings. The current study describes the Hydrate Philly intervention, the study design, and baseline characteristics of recreation centers participating in the study.ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: #NCT03637465

Analyzing the environmental sustainability of glass bottles reuse in an Italian wine consortium

The wine production constitutes an important sector for the Italian economy. Most of the wine producers are associated in local consortiums, which include small family companies involved in the production of similar products. This study aims to investigate the implementation of circular economy opportunities in the wine production chain. In particular, the reuse of glass bottles in the Piceno wine consortium (central Italy) has been analyzed to quantify the potential environmental benefits. The standard Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been used to compare the standard scenario (recycle of glass) against the circular scenario (cleaning and reuse of bottles within the local consortium). Results demonstrate that the reuse of glass bottles leads to relevant benefits in all the considered impact categories (ReCiPe Midpoint method). The avoided use of virgin glass offsets the additional resources (e.g. energy) consumed during the cleaning of used bottles.

Feasibility of Reusable Glass Bottles in Bottled Water Small Industry (Case Study: Academic Enterprise Unit of Bogor Agricultural University)

Increasing demand for bottled drinking water (BDW) has led to an increase in the number of industries which has resulted in an increase in the amount of packaging wastes that pollute the environment. Therefore, efforts to minimize waste need to be carried out, one of them is the use of reusable glass bottles (RGB) that involve packaging returns to producers (reverse logistics). Feasibility analysis covered market, technical and management, environment, and financial aspects of the products is required before RGB is applied. Analysis of Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) on market aspects showed that consumers are very satisfied with the quality of service, but there are several attributes that need to be improved. Conjoin analysis showed the consumers like BDW RGB products of prices less than Rp 5,000, volume 600 ml, collector empty bottles are agents, and fines are not applied. Analysis of technical and management aspects showed that it is feasible. The impact on using RGB to the environment is smaller than PET (plastic bottle). Judging from the financial criteria for internal rate of return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV), Net Benefit Cost ratio (B/C), and Payback Period (PBP), the use of RGB is more feasible. Keywords: bottled drinking water, feasibility analysis, reusable glass bottles, environmental impacts DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-2-04

Editorial and News

Editorial and News

Reusable endoscopic water bottles: is daily renewal really necessary?

Most guidelines recommend replacing endoscopic water bottles at least daily with newly sterilized or high-level disinfected water bottles. All these recommendations, however, are mainly based on expert opinions and outbreak reports. We tested the water quality from water bottles used in a gastrointestinal endoscopy unit where water bottles were used up to five days. The results show that the reuse of water bottles for more than one day is inadequate. The expert opinion in favour of changing water bottles daily rather than after five days is a sensible and safer option.

Small-sized microplastics and pigmented particles in bottled mineral water

Up to now, only a few studies about microparticle contamination of bottled mineral water have been published. The smallest analysed particle size was 5 μm. However, due to toxicological reasons, especially microparticles smaller than 1.5 μm are critically discussed. Therefore, in the present study, 32 samples of bottled mineral water were investigated for contamination by microplastics, pigment and additive particles. Due to the application of aluminium coated polycarbonate membrane filters and micro-Raman spectroscopy, a lowest analysed particle size of 1 μm was achieved.Microplastics were found in water from all bottle types: in single use and reusable bottles made of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as well as in glass bottles. The amount of microplastics in mineral water varied from 2649 ± 2857 per litre in single use PET bottles up to 6292 ± 10521 per litre in glass bottles. While in plastic bottles, the predominant polymer type was PET; in glass bottles various polymers such as polyethylene or styrene-butadiene-copolymer were found. Hence, besides the packaging itself, other contamination sources have to be considered.Pigment particles were detected in high amounts in reusable, paper labelled bottles (195047 ± 330810 pigment particles per litre in glass and 23594 ± 25518 pigment particles per litre in reusable paper labelled PET bottles). Pigment types found in water samples were the same as used for label printing, indicating the bottle cleaning process as possible contamination route.Furthermore, on average 708 ± 1024 particles per litre of the additive Tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphite were found in reusable PET bottles. This additive might be leached out from the bottle material itself.Over 90% of the detected microplastics and pigment particles were smaller than 5 μm and thus not covered by previous studies. In summary, this is the first study reporting about microplastics, pigment and additive particles found in bottled mineral water samples with a smallest analysed particle size of 1 μm.

Bacterial contamination of reusable bottled drinking water in Ecuador

Abstract In northern coastal Ecuador, water is routinely sold in 20 L reusable bottles for household consumption. These bottles are filled at central treatment facilities and distributed by private water companies. Similar bottled water markets are found in countries around the world. Commercially available bottled water offers an alternative source of drinking water in locations where piped infrastructure may be unsafe or non-existent. In this study we found that 73% (n = 94/128) of water sold in reusable containers in the Esmeraldas province of Ecuador was contaminated with coliform bacteria. In comparison, 25% (n = 9/36) of non-reusable bottles and 9% (n = 2/22) of water samples taken directly from the water treatment system contained coliform, suggesting that most observed bacterial contamination occurred due to inadequate cleaning of reusable bottles between use. The coliform contamination may pose a health risk to the Esmeraldas population. The present study may be indicative of similar situations in low- and middle-income countries around the world, given the widespread use of reusable bottles for water.

GREEN EXERCISE: AN ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS APPROACH TO PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES AND WELL-BEING IN ZIMBABWE

Research has proven that contact with natural environment and green space promotes good healthy lifestyles and well-being of individuals (Henwood, 2001; Wells & Evans, 2003; and Pretty, 2004). Green exercise is seen as a strategy that helps to reconnect human beings with the natural world and has important implications for public and environment health. Green exercise occurs through interaction with natural environments to enhance human health and well-being. Thus, the presence of trees and natural environment should encourage more frequent use of outdoor space and the experience of nature should be seen to reduce mental fatigue for those involved in physical activity. Although critiques of green exercise have their own views, this paper aims to look at the importance of interacting with nature in green exercise and the impact this can have on the lifestyles and well-being of individuals. This paper will use the Ecological dynamics approach as a theoretical framework which emphasizes performer-environment relationships and their dynamics. This theory views humans as complex systems in their interactions with living systems and their environment. The theory is an approach for studying processes, perception, decision making and action in dynamic performance environments and looks at those taking part in sport within the environment and emphasize that they must focus on safety practice bearing in mind that affordances can be utilized in different activity environments. Ecological dynamics perspective is proposed to underpin observed effects of green exercise and physical activity. The paper will use the library approach as the methodology. It is hoped that the importance of being green and environmentally friendly will be recommended so that people adopt green workouts. Considerations of re-usable water bottles, eco-friendly equipment, material and clothing for making workouts greener will be considered for adoption. Article visualizations:

Collaborate or Compete: Examining Manufacturers' Replacement Strategies for a Substance of Concern

The recent proliferation of media reports on substances of concern has increased consumer fears, sparked scientific debate, and highlighted the need for stronger chemical regulations. When a substance of concern is identified (e.g., bisphenol‐A (BPA) in reusable water bottles), manufacturers face difficult trade‐offs in deciding whether to proactively replace the substance in their products or to defer replacement and wait to see if regulation occurs. In this study, we examine when opportunities exist for manufacturers to avoid competitively replacing (i.e., making their replacement decisions on their own), and instead, collaborate to replace a substance of concern. We model a vertically differentiated market consisting of a high‐end manufacturer and a low‐end manufacturer, both of whom sell a product that contains a substance of concern. Our analysis investigates how market dynamics (competition and consumer preferences) and external factors (replacement costs and regulatory uncertainty) influence manufacturers' collaboration, replacement, and pricing decisions. We find that when the manufacturers do not collaborate, the high‐end manufacturer can use the presence of a substance of concern to dominate the market by capturing more demand and often charging a higher price for his product than the low‐end manufacturer. Collaboration is possible when there is either a shared fixed cost savings for both manufacturers or an opportunity for the low‐end manufacturer to benefit his competitive position by motivating the high‐end manufacturer to collaborate. From a consumer perspective, although collaboration reduces consumer exposure to the substance of concern, it can decrease consumer surplus when the replacement substance is very expensive.

Bottle Merchants at A’Beckett Street, Melbourne (1875–1914): New Evidence for the Light Industrial Trade of Bottle Washing

Glass bottles were a valuable commodity in colonial Australia, and the commercial reuse of these vessels ensured that they were used to their full potential. The 2009 excavations at 19–37 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne, uncovered architectural features and occupation deposits associated with four bottle merchant businesses operating from Lot 35–37 between 1875 and 1914, providing a rare opportunity to study this little-known but significant light industrial trade. This paper draws on archaeological data from 35–37 A’Beckett Street to examine the role of bottle merchants and marine store dealers in nineteenth-century Melbourne. It also seeks to determine an archaeological signature for bottle merchants through comparison with other contemporary sites, and briefly touches on the implications of bottle reuse when identifying patterns of consumption in archaeological assemblages.

Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Changing Norms by Changing Behavior: The Princeton Drink Local Program

Unprecedented levels of global bottled water consumption present a major challenge for the environment and water conservation initiatives. Educational institutions are in a unique position to promote conservation behavior by signaling pro-environmental norms. To decrease disposable bottled water consumption on campus, Princeton University instituted an innovative “Drink Local” program in 2009. The program provides reusable water bottles to all incoming students and we analyze the program's impact here by drawing on behavioral and social influence research. In particular, we hypothesized that by signaling that the desired “prototypical” behavior of Princeton students should be “sustainable,” students would be less likely to consume bottled water on one hand, and more likely to offer normative support for a campus bottled water ban on the other. Results from a quasi-experiment involving over 1,300 students confirm our hypotheses; students who received the reusable Drink Local bottles upon arrival to Princet...

Predictive Model Selection for Forecasting Product Returns

As awareness of environmental issues increases, the pressures from the public and policy makers have forced original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to consider remanufacturing as the key product design option. In order to make the remanufacturing operations more profitable, forecasting product returns is critical due to the uncertainty in quantity and timing. This paper proposes a predictive model selection algorithm to deal with the uncertainty by identifying a better predictive model. Unlike other major approaches in literature such as distributed lag models or DLMs, the predictive model selection algorithm focuses on the predictive power over new or future returns and extends the set of candidate models. The case study of reusable bottles shows that the proposed algorithm can find a better predictive model than the DLM.