Hey you! The one on our super-cool Bulletin Bottle website. Why are you here? I’m sure you know that water bottles are one of the hottest, trendiest items out there to put your message on.  And, it’s definitely a bonus that customized water bottles practically shout, “This organization is eco-friendly! You can feel good associating with them.”

But do you know WHY reusable water bottles are so environmentally friendly? Do you know why it’s so devastating to the Earth to use disposable bottles?

The people at The Story of Stuff Project have put together a great video about how this bottled water business came about, why it’s hurting the world, and what you can do about it.

People in the U.S. buy enough bottles of water each week to circle the globe more than 5 times. Each year, making the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. takes enough oil and energy to fuel a million cars.

What happens to all these bottles when we’re done? Eighty percent end up in landfills (where they will sit for thousands of years), or in incinerators (where they are burned, releasing toxic pollution). The rest get collected for recycling. But are they actually being recycled? Watch the video to find out (but the answer is…not necessarily).

What do we do about this? There are many things we can do to solve this problem. By visiting out website, and by considering reusable water bottles for your next promotion, fundraiser, or event, you ARE doing something.