15 January 2009

Water filters

I recently wrote about the dangers of bottled water in which I implored readers to try to switch to drinking all tap water. Someone brought up a question I did not address in my posting: what about water filters?

For people who don't like the taste of the tap water in their municipality, water filters are an excellent option! MUCH better than bottled water!

But choose carefully. Some companies will take back their filters and recycle them, while others will not. A major environmental campaign called "Take Back the Filter" recently won a hard-fought victory. In the past, Brita took back and recycled their filters in other countries where Brita is sold (like European countries, etc.) but NOT in America. Now you can turn them in at Whole Foods or mail them in. A major victory that definitely changes the way the environmental community looks at water filters.

Also, you don't have to worry about BPA in Brita's pitchers or in Pur's. Make sure you check out the plastics used in other brands' pitchers when making a decision. Of course, you can avoid the plastics of the pitcher if you choose to use a filter attached to your sink faucet (here's a random example) or in your refrigerator.

3 comments:

Amy said...

Hey, awesome! I prefer my pitcher filter. I've lived at places with faucet filters, and it takes forever to get a full cup of water. Plus, I keep the pitcher in the fridge, so it's cold - no ice necessary!

Mr. Pasch said...

What about filters in refrigerators? I have a water dispenser which is awesome and I change the filter regularly but I always wonder what sort of quality they provide.

Hannah Markwardt said...

No real differences between in-frig and other filters. Consumers of any type of filter should look for filters that are recyclable/returnable/reuseable.

In fact, in-frig filters can be MORE eco-friendly than faucet-mounted filters because the water comes out cold. You don't end up running the water waiting for it to get cold from the tap.

Glad to see you at my blog! :)