The Chic Ecologist

BPA and Your Safest Reusable Water Bottle Choice

When it comes to water bottles, the choices seem endless. By now you probably know all the problems with disposable plastic water bottles, even the so called green bottled water have on the environment, but what about you?

Lately there has been a big deal made of Bisphenol A or BPA. BPA is a estrogen hormone mimicking chemical and has been linked with all kinds of bad stuff, including breast cancer, early puberty, and problems in infants and is found in some surprising places including reusable water bottles and canned fruits and vegetables.

This was a problem with some reusable plastic and aluminum bottles (aluminum water bottles require a liner to prevent corrosion). Fortunately this has been addressed for most of the big name manufacturers including new production models of Nalgene, SIGG and Camelbak.

The best way to choose a water bottle to avoid BPA and other toxins, is to select the right one for your needs and use it correctly. Here are the prevalent reusable container options:

Glass or Ceramic water bottles
Aquasana
Good for hot (when insulated) and acidic items, scratch resistant, durability, longevity
Bad for weight, traveling, impact


Stainless Steel water bottles
Klean Kanteen
Good for hot (when insulated) and acidic items, durability, longevity
Bad for weight

Aluminum water bottles
SIGG
Good for durability and weight
Bad for acidic and hot items (due to liner)


Polycarbonate water bottles
Nalgene
Good for durability and weight
Bad for acidic and hot items


Water packs
BPA free CamelBak
Good for flexibility, transport, durability and weight
Bad for acidic, hot items and solid goods.


When choosing water bottles, stick to a reputable brand. There are many Chinese manufactures out there which continue to line their aluminum water bottles with materials which leach BPA, and buying plastic Number 7 water bottles does not guarantee that it does not contain Bisphenol A. Number 7 as a plastic type means any plastic that is not in the first six, not necessarily a BPA free plastic.

Related posts:

1. Green Water Bottles and Now The PlantBottle Soda Bottle
2. Design Within Reach Eco Design Water Filter
3. New Soap, Old Bottle – Reducing Trash with Reuse
4. Don’t Recycle Soda and Sparkling Water Bottles
5. Reusable Shopping Bag Choices

Tags: Bisphenol A, bottles, BPA, reusable, water

5 Comments to BPA and Your Safest Reusable Water Bottle Choice

1. 

   faucetface.com has some cool glass water bottles as well.
Mason on December 31st, 2009
2. 

   Thanks for the recommendation Mason, they are indeed cool bottles!
Jean-Paul on December 31st, 2009

3. [...] out my Reusable Water Bottle post to get your way out of the disposable cycle! Share and [...]
Reusable Shopping Bag Choices | The Chic Ecologist on January 12th, 2010
4. 

   Check out my small company’s glass water bottles too! http://www.betrulyyou.com
   We’ve got some cool new graphic bottles coming this Spring…
   Thanks for sharing the news about water bottle choices!
Heather on January 13th, 2010

5. [...] all purpose, all containing, non-leaching, durable and portable container. You can check out my reusable water bottle comparison article to find one that best suits your needs. This will help keep all of those pesky plastic [...]
5 Basic Steps to Green Nirvana | The Chic Ecologist on January 20th, 2010

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