Mahima Ravi - JUST Water
Americans buy about 29 million plastic water bottles each year. Unsurprisingly only one out of every six of those bottles are recycled. This is a huge problem since it takes about 1,000 years for a single bottle to decompose. Our landfills are overflowing with all 2 million tons of bottles.
![Image result for plastic bottle pollution](https://guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Dumpsite.jpg)
Studies have shown that decomposing bottles release toxins into the environment that can cause health problems such as reproductive issues and cancer. These bottles are not only harming the environment when they are being thrown into landfills but during production as well. Plastic bottles are made from a petroleum product called polyethylene terephthalate which results in the use of large amounts of fossil fuel.
An unlikely figure however has created a product to combat the negative effects of plastic bottles. Jaden Smith has created a company with the help of his father, Will Smith, called JUST Water. The company is producing bottles out of paper and plant-based plastic. It also seeks to decrease the level of greenhouse emissions during the production process.
![Image result for just water jaden smith](https://media.giphy.com/media/Y4v6Y6SAbP1K11eFnq/giphy.gif)
Questions:
Do you think the pollution caused by plastic bottles is
an urgent issue and needs to be addressed immediately?
What should be our short-term and long-term solutions to
this issue?
Do you think the paper bottle concept by JUST Water is
actually better than plastic bottles?
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-will-jaden-smith-eco-friendly-water-company-just-20180221-story.html
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/key-facts-about-plastic-pollution/
http://www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au/news/just-water-takes-the-plunge
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