In my
last post about caffeine, I happened to mention the water bottle I've been reusing for the past month. I think it's wasteful to open a new bottled water every time, so instead I just refilled Arnold (
that's my water bottle's name) and placed him back in the fridge. It's not the taste of bottled water I like, just the convenience of having a little bottle in which to tote around such an important, life-giving substance. According to my readers, this was a dangerous thing to do, as Arnold was slowly giving me some kind of plastic-related cancer.
After I found out about Arnold's apparent murder plot against me, all I could do was nervously look at him like he was a possessed toy monkey. He sat on my desk, quietly mocking me, and I suspected that if he knew that I knew he was evil, he'd come to life and physically attack me. On the outside, my water bottle had a kind and refreshing appearance, but on the inside, he was leaking chemical compounds into my water. So before he could do any further damage, I threw him away.
R.I.P. Arnold. You were there for me since the first day of work, and you will be sorely missed.
Today I did some online research, and apparently the biggest concern for me was just a little bacteria that might have accumulated on him. The cancer thing was just a myth, so now I feel like I murdered my friend for no reason - like I killed my childhood playmate for wearing an ugly shirt.
"
[The] FDA has affirmatively determined that, when plastics are used as intended in food-contact applications, the nature and amount of substances that may migrate, if any, are safe."
Source
Were you all just jealous of my relationship with Arnold? Why all the hate, bloggers? You forced me to commit a heinous act against nature, and now, because of my rash decision, a mother squirrel is going to get lodged in Arnold over at some landfill, and then she won't be able to feed her babies. Because of the fear you instilled in me, I will have inadvertently killed an entire family of squirrels.
Do you reuse plastic bottles? Did you think it caused cancer? Don't you feel sad that "Arnold" might inadvertently kill an entire family of squirrels?
Comments (40)
LOL! hilarious. anything can cause cancer nowadays. might as well use whatever your heart desires.
i think it's so cute that you named your water bottle arnold!! =)
I use to reuse water bottles, but I don't anymore. I watched some tv news thing about how bad it was to do so. Not that it cause cancer but that it is impossible to clean the bottle completely and what not. So no more reusing water bottles for me. I went and bought a cup with a lid that I now use all the time.
I reuse plastic bottles for water. I figure that it's a green way to go. And to break the truth to everyone, buying the "eco-friendly" water bottles is not going green. They are still making plastic, which is still bad for the environment. They just wanna make you buy their product thinking you're going green. Just reuse a plastic bottle.
That's why the smart thing to do usually is research BEFORE action...
Its not that all plastics ARE bad is that some plastics GO bad.
The expiry date on bottles is not for the pop/water, its for when the bottle expires and starts leeching chemicals into your beverage.
As to if these chemcials cause cancer, I couldn't tell you.
Its better to just be safe and buy a stainless steel bottle.
Word is, the new way to go is those stainless steel bottles. They're pretty cool looking... but replacing a good friend with a better looking friend isn't always the best feeling. I wish you luck.=)
Oh my God, everyone whined and bitched about the cancer thing (which is a myth?!?! wtf!!?) and ran out to get those tin water cans. I bet it was a ploy by the water can companies!!! :O
I reuse mine to a certain extent; I throw them out every month or so. But I find it funny no one has mentioned that there are different types of plastic and that bisphenol A hasn't been identified in all of them. You have to look at the number insided the little triangle on the bottom of the bottle. The ratings can be found all over the internet. Most bottled water-bottles are safe. However, the older nalgene bottles DO contain the harmful substance!
without anything useful to say or do, i merely had the idea that maybe I should reuse my water bottles. oh well, i'll be dead rotting into the ground that regurgitates all these bottles I drank so long ago. oh well.
i have one of those plastic cup/bottle things that are meant to be reused, but before i got that i reused water bottles. i'm really more likely to get cancer from my parents' second-hand smoke than a reused bottle, so i didn't really care.
RIP Arnold :(
I reading this staring at my plastic water bottle that says recycle - is that not what I'm doing by reusing it. True the bottle will have a short life expectancy, probably due to the fact that I'll forget it somewhere and will have to replace it. As with anything I think it's important to keep it clean.
I use to reuse water bottles, too. But because of the "cancer scare," I bought a PBA free Nalgene On-The-Go bottle that I use all the time. I love my bottle but, um, I hadn't thought to name it!!
I used to buy bottled water too. What I did was buy a cute pink one from Wally World. (Wal-Mart, I didn't name my bottle though :P) and start buying the gallon-sized ones for about sixty sents. Now I can rewash, refill, and reuse my cute bottle aaand I can tote it around. Not to mention not seeing lots of bottles in the trash everyday. (I drink lots of water, so yeah. Lots of bottles in the trash.)
It saved me a lot of money. Buying a pack of 24, 12 oz. bottles of water from Sam's Club was about $4.50
I reuse bottles because I can refill them from the water filter thing at work and I don't have to use the styrofoam cups that they provide. They gave us a coffee mug to cut back on the cups used so sometimes I use that as well.
i actually reuse water bottles many times a week. I have noticed that if you reuse water bottles enough, the taste of it changes and you never get that first time taste. i think that even that small amount of bacteria can cause harm in the long run.
OMG!!! That's okay...squirrels are like rats around the university district anyway.
I used to think that it caused cancer or plastic poisoning or whatever, too! Thanks for the reassurance. :D
It's not reusing a plastic bottle that causes cancer. It's the BPA's that are used in them that causes cancer. The BPAs aren't released unless the bottle has been heated or frozen, like for instance you leave it in your car or heat in a microwave. Then the BPA's are released. That's why they now sell plastic water bottles that are BPA free. But if you have no intention of ever exposing it to major temperature changes, you're fine. And can you really trust the FDA? seriously?
As mentioned above, it's the bisphenol A that causes cancer.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A for the doses and associated damage. To minimize your exposure, you should avoid microwaving plastic, and avoid putting it in a dishwasher where hot water can release the BPA.
RIP Arnold.
Lmao.
We re-use bottles...to a point, for drinking. Once they go past their usefulness for this purpose, we then use them for crafts, turn them into pots...and then, whatever's left after all this, we give them to people to burn for heat.
I use the metal water bottles, cause it keeps my water fresh n tasty, and keeps more plastic out of the landfills :)
you mean you didn't even recycle him?
@lauralen@xanga - lol