A major contributor to our environmental problems is the manufacturing and disposal of plastics. Specifically, plastic water bottles are a huge part of this problem given that Americans buy an estimated 28 billion plastic water bottles every year, with nearly eight out of every 10 bottles ending up in landfill where they will sit for about 700 years – the average time for a plastic bottle to biodegrade.

Besides being bad for the environment, many plastic bottles have been shown to cause harm to people by leaking toxins into the water.

Even if every bottle were recycled, the very existence of plastic bottles raises another issue. The Earth Policy Institute estimates that making bottles to meet the US demand for bottled water requires more than 15 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year.

Help your children decrease the use of plastic water bottles by getting them their own reusable water bottles made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum. One of my, and my children’s, personal favorites are the SIGG water bottles, which can be found online at www.sigg.com, or at local retailers like Sonoma County Outfitters, Oliver’s Market, and REI. Their children bottles are the perfect size for little ones to hold and handle and they have many fun, bright designs. My children each picked out their own bottle, and, while they can be a bit pricey, I have saved a ton of money in the long run by not buying disposable water bottles. Also, I found that a side benefit of these bottles is that my children love drinking from them, encouraging more water drinking which is great for their health too.