Is it ok to reuse plastic water bottles?

Plastic bottles break down over time when exposed to heat and sunlight.

They should be changed over relatively often. Don't keep using the same one for weeks/months on end. I try not to use mine for more than a couple of weeks, and I don't leave it out in the sun.

Oh, two other things.

– Not a good idea to put hot liquids in plastic bottles either. That will also increase any leeching effects.

– There's no BPA (the main chemical of concern) in disposable soda bottles. It's the hard polycarbonate nalgene type bottles that may have it (although most naglenes now seem to be BPA-free)

not only can you use hot water in plastic bottles, over and over again, it is recommended to do so to kill bacteria by using hot water and soap! what a concept!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

gatorade bottles contain no carcinogen or chemical that will leach into your beverage in enough levels to pose ANY risk. bacteria would be your highest concern.

Well, I used my PET fizzy bottles for 3 months straight in France. Three different long trips in fact. And on EVERY other trip I have done for many years too.

The oft-cited claims that PET bottles are perfectly OK when used to store Coke for a month or two, but become serious health risks the instant after the Coke is drunk, are just hysterical mindless crap. Check with Snopes.

Wash out every so often: the area around the threads where you drink from can get a bit grubby. That's ALL.

Some of these 'environmental' web sites seem driven more by scare-mongering than any form of science or fact. People love to have hysterics and proclaim conspiracy. BORING!

Cheers

The experts are probably right. But if it turns out in years to come that there is a problem, that's not much consolation. Nalgene bottles with BPA used to be "safe" too, remember.

Personally, given that PET bottles are cheap, I prefer to change my bottles often. On the off chance there is anything leeching out of the plastic, it will likely be accelerated as the bottle is exposed to heat/sunlight (as opposed to sitting on a shelf in a shop).

I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories or scaremongering, but I am wary of man-made chemicals in products. There's a lot we don't know about how they interact/interfere with the human body, which wasn't "designed" to operate in the presence of these chemicals.

The thing is, if those plastic bottle exist at all their chemicals are already in "the environment" (as if there is some outside out there far away and safe from where we bury this crap or burn it.) Buying a new bottle for each drink you take is somehow "better" than reusing the bottle? Better how? Does it use less energy? Release less toxins into the environment? Leave a better world for future generations?

If you really care, don't even buy the bottles to begin with.

man, this is my day to post. most of these topics are just what I talked about on my weekend 19 mile hike in the Superstitions (which is about 40 miles anywhere else :)

Rog, Ash, Diane all making valid points here.
I dont sell retail water bottles so this is just coming out of my nose, but how many 1 gallon containers are sold compared to those "cute" little 8oz cases of water, which only equals 1 gallon (but about 15X the plastic used, comparitively)
I have in home filter RO style, and at work use a 1 gal. and a trusty, 22 year old tupperware cup. That being said, I buy a 1L aquafina bottle about every month or so..

Diane, the sad thing is (and dont quote me here) i read something like 2 million water bottles are tossed out in the USA alone EVERY day!
thatsa lotta plastic going to waste.
I do like Roger's cynicism in regards to storing soda in a container but OMG dont you dare re-use it for that clear spring water! lol

Buying a new bottle for each drink you take is somehow "better" than reusing the bottle? Better how? Does it use less energy? Release less toxins into the environment? Leave a better world for future generations?

I don't know anyone who buys a new bottle each time they take a drink.

But refillable bottles are pretty common for backpacking. What do you use? Back in the day I used a Sigg alumnium bottle, but after about 10 months of continuous use it was pretty nasty and I stopped using it (strange rust-like substance on the inside). I'm sure alumninium bottles aren't too environmentally friendly to produce either.

When it comes to swapping plastic bottles every few weeks, rather than using the same one for months, I freely admit there is an additional burden on the environment (though I do recycle them). Not exactly the biggest environmental issue we face though. And I'm afraid potential health concerns need to come first for me.

About 1992 I bought three 1.5 liter bottles of Argentine Apricot Nectar from Trader Joe's. The bottles, while quite flexible, were exceptionally robust and I began using one of them for carrying water. I changed to a Dromolite Bladder two years ago and retired the bottle. It's very banged up but has never leaked a drop. I still have all three, and will keep them since today's bottles are quite wimpy by comparison and don't last all that long.

Now, about the third nostril I've sprouted…

ah, heck.

I used, and still use the same Nalgene bottles I bought decades ago. And these probably are the BPA stuff… whatever that is. So I have probably exposed myself to 1,000s time more than most, and have suffered no ill effects.

I have some Platypus sacks for trips, but still use the Nalgenes a lot for day hikes. Sometimes I take Aquafina water, because my wife insists on buying it. Why not just drink tap water and reuse Nalgenes or water bags. Tap water is almost free anyway. The plastic bottles do work fine, although they do wear out with abuse. Crazy for us to make billions of water bottles a year that end up in land fills and laying all over this wonderful planet. I hate seeing these things laying in gutters, creek beds, parks, etc.

But if you want to use and reuse plastic bottles, go ahead. You aren't going to die.

"Personally, given that PET bottles are cheap, I prefer to change my bottles often. On the off chance there is anything leeching out of the plastic, it will likely be accelerated as the bottle is exposed to heat/sunlight (as opposed to sitting on a shelf in a shop)."

Ever consider how that bottle of Coke or Gatoraide or whatever got to the store? It sure isn't by refrigerated truck. While it may not have been exposed to a lot of sunlight, if you're buying the water in the warmer months it was certainly exposed to heat in the back of that tractor trailer.

If you're happy using a PET bottle for months or years on end I have no objection. The bottles I use deteriorate visibly over time, and I choose to replace them. HYOH folks.

I'm not a scientist, and I gather that no one else writing in this thread is either–at least not a scientist with any familiarity with plastics.

Does something leech out of plastic bottles, with the leeching increasing as time goes by? Maybe, but maybe it's the reverse. Which of us really knows? If there's anything to leech out, maybe it leeches early (into the original beverage), in which case older bottles are more leechless, so to speak.

And what about heat and sun? Granted, they seem to weaken plastic, but if there is any danger to users, it may not be from weak plastic (which could result in lost liquid) but from particles of the plastic going into solution and being consumed. But, again, do we have any evidence of that?

I understand the better-safe-than-sorry approach, but it might just be that old, worn-out plastic puts fewer baddies into one's drink than new, stiff plastic. If so, then the true better-safe-than-sorry approach would be to forswear the use of new bottles in favor of other people's cast-away bottles.

I'm not saying this is the case. I'm just saying that none of us seems to be in a position to know what the truth of the matter is.

I understand the better-safe-than-sorry approach, but it might just be that old, worn-out plastic puts fewer baddies into one's drink than new, stiff plastic.

It's not inconceivable that this could be the case. Place your bets…

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water/cola is usually sold is usually a #1, and it *may* leach a chemical called DEHP at very, very low levels after months of UV exposure and high temps. Basically nothing to worry about, and reusing them sure beats filling up landfills with them.

To keep the BPA thing in perspective though (these are #7 bottles) , you get 50 times more BPA from eating canned food than you do drinking from water autoclaved in PC.

http://www.consumersearch.com/water-bottles/bpa-free-plastic-bottles

I agree with those that say it's OK, but that you shouldn't use them for extended periods.

I used to do this too, but I decided I don't like the taste. Really, there is a plastic taste in the water after awhile.

Another thing I think is that the whole BPA thing might just have been a little over-exaggerated by the government. I'm not saying it's not dangerous, but unless you're drinking it straight on purpose for extended periods of time and in great quantities, it's not as big of an issue. I did not give my Nalgenes up when they recalled them just so I could get new ones.

-Evan

Edit: spelling errors

I have the distinct feeling that I am about to get pounded for my above post and that this thread is going to turn into another war :)

cheers

Has anyone ever heard of somebody suffering or dying because of reused water bottles? And if baby sippers and baby bottles are a problem, is it the cause of the dumbing down of the growing generation (I'd blame other factors)? How many people get cancer JUST because they reuse water bottles?

Enjoying the outdoors regardless of money spent on water bottles would probably offset any problems caused by the use of plastic bottles.

i read somewhere that it increases very significantly after exposure to heat – so if you washed your bottles in hot water or filled them with hot water, they will leach significantly more from that point forward

i reuse plastic water bottles but only rinse them in cold water – figure most things are okay in moderation or less

don't drink sodas much, so no soda bottles to deal with – sometimes gatorade or somesuch in summertime

Soda bottles are fine. It's only the #7 plastics that will leach BPA, and even then it is not at significant levels unless you are using boiling water or acidic fluids. Please stop confusing polyethylene drink bottles (#1, 2 and 4) with polycarbonate bottles. They are far, far from the same beast!

> I'm not a scientist, and I gather that no one else writing in this thread is either
>–at least not a scientist with any familiarity with plastics.

You might be surprised how many Forum contributors have science and engineering degrees, up to and including doctorates.

Cheers

Roger – do you mean that if they knew the person they would be surprised, like, "there's no way that person has an engineering degree"?

I have known a few like that, and try not to be one. :)

Most likely he means many of the staff and forum members are a lot more highly educated (and sometimes even more 'experienced') than many would or should assume. I find this is true in most aspects of life. I prefer to assume a person IS highly educated unless they show otherwise. Of course, a post-graduate degree does not necessarily make you an expert in all (or any) topics. Having a high level of formal education does not mean you know how to apply what you've learned in a practical way!

Thank you Don :-)