Time, BRITAs and Nalgenes

Over the past few weeks I’ve been taking note of when I grab a plastic bottle instead of refilling one of my many Nalgenes. I’ve come to the conclusion that I use plastic water bottles instead of reusable ones because of accessibility and time. I find myself grabbing a plastic bottle instead of filling a reusable bottle because it takes less time. When I fill up my Nalgene I have to walk down the hall to our community kitchen to fill my Brita, wait for it to filter and then finally fill my Nalgene. I’m a college student, I have too much on my plate to wait around for a Brita to filter. The water bottles are just right there, I don’t have to think about it. The same goes for the accessibility the meal equivalency system at Lower creates to purchase bottled water. For a drink its either bottled water or a soda with my meal. Because I don’t drink soda often, I go for the healthier water bottle option. However, I’ve come to the realization that this “healthier” option isn’t all that great if it means adding to the thousands of bottles that will sit in landfills.

Convenience is another reason I drink plastic water bottles. For example, when I was on my way back from fall break I had to travel through to Penn  Station and then take a bus from Port Authority to Easton, PA. With my luck I had forgotten to fill up a reusable bottle before I left to begin my trek back to campus. Upon arriving at Penn Station I purchased three plastic water bottles for the bus ride back and although I had to pay for the water I didn’t care because it meant I wouldn’t suffer from thirst during the ride. However, as I thought about my guilt for having bought these bottles I realized how unsanitary it could be to put water from a train station water fountain into my Nalgene. I also realized that even if I filled up a Nalgene or two before my trip they would have been so much heavier to travel with than lighter plastic bottles. Simply put, I’m just not accustomed  to reaching for a Nalgene before I leave the house and I’m not used to making the trip down to the hall to fill my Brita.

My change to cut out plastic water bottles was inspired by the knowledge I have learned regarding their impact on the environment. However, knowledge is not always enough to persuade humans to change their behaviors (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011). In McKenzie’s report of how to instill sustainable behavior change, knowledge failed to create a change. His results leave me wondering if I’m just a special case in the trend of plastic water bottle use. Why have I always wanted to do something about cutting plastic bottles out of my life (even before participating in this blog) but others that get the same public knowledge do not? I suppose the time convenience and social norm to use plastic bottles is more overpowering than I thought.

References:

McKenzie-Mohr (2011) Fostering Sustainable Behavior. [2nd Edition]. New Society Publishers.