The 10 Best Refrigerator Water Filters

Plastic has become a sad reality of our times and a burning problem for us all. It’s a ubiquitous presence – you can find it in soil, inland waters, the deepest trenches of the ocean, and ultimately even in the food we eat.

The endless production and use of plastic items has led to a plastic pollution crisis. Plastic has become a threat to wildlife and human health.

Raising public awareness is a common tool governments and environmentalist groups use to help to reduce plastic pollution.

Unfortunately, removing plastic from our oceans or reducing the production of single use plastic items aren’t a permanent solution. The best solution may be brought by the ban on all types of single use plastics and making changes at a consumer level such as eliminating our reliance on bottled water.

In this article we are going to discuss the directives on reducing plastic pollution and the ways you can reshape your consumer habits to make a sustainable change.

Let’s see what little changes with major impact you can make to reduce plastic waste worldwide.

Banning Single-Use Plastics Worldwide

It’s somewhat unfair that, in most cases, the burden of disposing of plastic waste lies with the consumer. Most of the time plastic producers, don’t share this burden with the consumer.

Consumers are now demanding alternatives to plastic, and they rally around environmentalist groups and NGOs to push for safer and environmentally conscious alternatives.

World-leading countries have already come up with initiatives to curb the damaging effects of plastic pollution.

Thankfully, the movement on banning single-use plastic has been gathering momentum worldwide. Lawmakers worldwide keep agreeing on how important it is to protect nature from plastic pollution and to do something to stop the damage to our health and environment.

Hawaii

By raising its voice against plastic pollution, Hawaii could be the first country worldwide to ban using plastic in restaurants.

Single-use plastic in eateries is a huge part of the average plastic waste countries produce, and Hawaii seems to be 100% conscious about this issue. They already banned plastic bags back in 2015, setting a great example to the rest of the world.

In Maui and Hawaii island, the use of polystyrene foam food containers has been already banned.

What they’re try to do now is to extend this and new regulations to the rest of the state. The proposed bill would prohibit all restaurants and government agencies from using single-use plastic items such as foam containers, utensils, bottles and straws by 2022.

EU

Good news, the European Union is making progress as well, handing down a new directive to reduce plastic pollution significantly. According to the plan proposed by the European Commission, single-use plastic items such as cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws and drink stirrers will be completely banned.

The initiative also requires all member states of the EU to increase the collection of plastic bottles up to 90% in the next 5 years. This announcement also includes the reuse of plastic materials, the labelling of certain products and raising awareness among the public regarding plastic waste and the alternatives to reduce it.

Asia

Meanwhile in Asia, authorities are actively raising the attention of the public and they’re putting new alternatives into practice.

In many Asian countries, the use of straws made of bamboo, paper, glass or stainless steel is becoming more common.

Advertisement and publicity are also strongly focused on offering environment-friendly products, making the public understand the issues that result from plastic pollution and helping them to switch to a new, plastic-free lifestyle.

With Asian countries as China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam having been major pollutants and dumping staggering amounts of plastic into the oceans, the new wave of change happening in Asia give use hope that things can be done differently.

How Can You Help?

Some governments and lawmakers are already trying to find sustainable alternative to the pressing problem of plastic pollution, and other countries are following suit to save the planet from further damage.

In bigger cities, you may come across advertisements on plastic waste or saving energy, but let’s see the seemingly minor, but important things you should pay attention to.

In the next part of this article, we’ll go over the things you can do as a customer to help the progress on the ban on plastics. Let’s see how you can help to speed up the process of eliminating plastic waste:

Filtered Water

The water you drink can be a major contributor to the worldwide plastic problem. Bottled water is extremely problematic when it comes to plastic waste, especially that very few bottles end up getting recycled, most bottles  instead it’s thrown away to landfills or into the ocean.

But there are alternatives that are less devastating to the environment, namely filtered water.

Ditch the cap in favour of the tap and make your household greener by investing in a professional water filter system. This way you can drink filtered water instead of buying bottled water.

Save yourself from the headache of dealing with all the plastic waste after you finish a bottle and switch to an environment friendly lifestyle.

To make sure you make the right decision, get your water tested before buying a water filter system. This way you’ll make sure that the water you and your family drink daily is purified and perfectly save to consume.

Recyclable Filter Cartridges

Water filters aren’t 100% plastic-free. Therefore, you should install filters that operate with long-lasting filter cartridges.

Changing the cartridges periodically can lead to an increase in your plastic waste. What can you do in this situation? Use recyclable filter cartridges. Some products such as filter cartridges manufactured by Ecopure are 100% recyclable.

Filter on the go

When going out, especially in hot weather, it’s easy to indulge in buying bottled water. On your way to school or work, during a longer ride or flight, you will surely get thirsty. Stay hydrated anytime and anywhere by drinking fresh filtered pure water. Say no to buying bottled water, get a water filter bottle that purifies your water on the go.

This way your travel and gym experience will be more environmentally conscious and greener than before. Use water filter bottles whenever you leave your home.

Stand Up for the Environment

Ask your representatives to make a change and support candidates with an environmental plan. Get involved locally with NGOs and environmentalist groups.

Refuse plastic bags at the store, ask for paper straws and paper cups at your local cafe, and limit your plastic use as much as possible.

Final Thoughts

While plastic isn’t the only threat to the environment and to global warming, it’s a field where your contribution can make a change.

New legislative proposals by governments worldwide are a great way to seek out alternatives and raise public awareness. But this is not enough. Action should always follow.

Your contribution to this wave of change is extremely valuable and simple things such as reviewing the plastic items you’re buying and trying to find new options to replace them can go a long way in helping the movement.

When it comes to water filters, make sure you choose greener alternatives to protect your environment from plastic pollution.

Drink filtered water at home and on the go and consider buying recyclable filter cartridges for your water filter systems. These are the small things that could lead to a huge change for a better tomorrow.