05 February 2024 , 16:19
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The average adult will purchase as many as 3,856 single-use plastic water bottles over the course of their lifetime – amounting to more than 200 billion bought nationwide.
Some of the top reasons for resorting to a shop-bought plastic water bottle including being on a long journey (29%), or forgetting to take their own, personal water bottle with them (36%).
Others will do so if they are struggling to find somewhere to refill their reusable bottle once it is empty (18%) – or if they are waiting at an airport before a flight (21%).
And the survey of 2,000 adults found that almost half (47%) admit they give little consideration to the impact that bottled water could have on their physical health.
However, of the 27% who regularly buy plastic bottled water, more than a fifth (22%) believe it is not good for their health – and one in three feel tap water tastes “purer” in comparison.
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The research was commissioned by reusable bottle brand, Ocean Bottle, which has released Acqua Sordida – a water bottle visibly filled with “bits” to represent the microplastics in our waterways, to encourage the UK to end its toxic relationship with plastic bottles.
The most common reason for resorting to plastic bottles is because they forgot to bring their own, personal water bottle (Ocean Bottle)Will Pearson, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Bottle, said: “Valentine’s Day is a time for us to take stock of our relationships – and our research shows that a lot more of us need to take stock of our current relationship with bottled water.
“We are literally drinking particles of plastic with every plastic bottle of water we drink, and therefore believe it's high time we end our toxic relationship with plastic bottles – it’s better for the ocean, and better for our health.”
When it comes to the health aspects of drinking from a plastic bottle, 66% are aware that the water in it potentially contains tiny pieces of plastic.
And although 88% know it gets dumped into the ocean every day, and will end up back in our food and drink chain, the average adult is way off when estimating how many pieces of microplastic particles can be found in plastic bottled water.
The average person believes there to be around 64,000 particles in a one litre bottle of water – when wider research shows there could be up to 240,000.
When quizzed on how to combat this issue, 61% think the big brands who sell these products are not doing enough to prevent particles getting into the ocean.
In order to avoid such pollution, exactly half of consumers would like to see them introduce more initiatives for reusing or recycling their products, while 28% hope to see companies raising awareness about tap water being safer and more cost efficient.
And more than six in 10 (61%) of those surveyed, via OnePoll.com, are trying to cut back on the amount of plastic water bottles they buy – as those who buy them regularly, pick up an average of five bottles a month.
This Valentine’s Day, Ocean Bottle is encouraging consumers to take a pledge to end their toxic relationship with plastic water bottles once and for all – with those involved in with a chance to win a limited-edition reuseable bottle.
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