Pollution has brought about rampant contamination especially on ground water where we actually get our water for drinking. There had been increased levels of lead, mercury, arsenic and other harmful contaminants through the years that is why more, if not, most people have resorted to the use of bottled waters. With this, no doubt, the contamination has been prevented but then, millions of bottled waters that had been thrown have also produced huge and serious environmental issues concerning the rising piles of litter and landfills.

Yes, these bottled waters can be recycled, but if we closely introspect, the energy used for the actual recycling plus the cost of materials and transportation expenses to transport the newly recycled bottled waters still tantamount to enormous amounts of energy and money involved. If recycling is environment-friendly, yet it takes so much energy and resources to recycle, what have we gotten, so far? Still more spending and no savings as far as energy and other notable resources are concerned.

You know, bottled waters are the safe alternatives to contaminated water, but there is a perfect solution to an even wider problem to energy crisis. There are safe substitutes and alternatives that do not entail much energy and expenses, making every effort environmentally beneficial.

Why not consider a household water filter straight from the faucet? Because it would be impossible to purify the water of the whole city, maybe a household can voluntarily choose to take part in some purification substitutes that can help cleanse drinking water into purification that is at par to the level of safe drinking.

Hence, here are some purification options that can not only save some money but can be a whole lot helpful, a proven safe substitute to bottled water.

Filters

One can simply put a filter trap which practically traps and filters particles in a somewhat porous and rough material while still letting the water pass through the faucet. This is the simplest approach one can use and is considered to be the most inexpensive way although it takes regular checking and maintenance prompting more filter changes from one to another.

Use of Carbon Filters

Coal, charcoal and wood are filters that can be used to reduce chemical contaminations especially tastes and odors. There are carbon filter cartridges available in the market that are not so costly and can still purify water at the level for safe drinking. However, this method also requires frequent replacement of filter cartridge since it can gather bacteria in the long run.

Devices with Reverse – Osmosis

This device can be tedious to install but once installed under the sink, the membrane with small pores can filter and screen injurious chemicals like chlorine and sulfate. The downside of these reverse-osmosis devices is the wastage of water which can reach to a ratio of 3:1 with 1 gallon that is only drinkable.

As the population all over the world is increasing, so is the bulk and amount of trash that are being thrown. In fact, the garbage seems to even increase faster with almost a ton of trash per person. Such scary statistics, but true!

Do you know that we only recycle 30% of the total trash and what happens to the rest? The most startling is the fact that it even costs more to throw away garbage into landfills than to recycle items. The $30 that is utilized to recycle is far lower than the $50 to ship all the waste to landfills that are becoming full each passing day and against the $70 needed to burn all the stuff.

You see, although, we still spend to recycle, just imagine how much we can save if we are able to select from inside our trash and find out which items can be thrown and which one to keep for recycling. Here are some interesting items that can be recycled:

Glass – Check out materials and products that are made of glass.  Glass is one item that is most recyclable. It actually follows the process called the closed loop – one that can be recycled as many times over. The recycling of glass is more energy- saving, consuming only 40% of the total energy. You might want to keep those bottles and set aside for recycling, you know.

Paper, Newspapers, Cardboard boxes and Grocery bags – Do not throw any material made out of paper. All these can be recycled that can help conserve energy, save water, improve air quality and minimize space in the landfill. For every ton of paper recycled, 4,000 kilowatts of power can be saved and about 7000 gallons of water kept. What savings you can possibly gain!

Plastic container and plastic bottles – Recycling plastic containers is one way to help ease the growing concern on filled-up and overflowing landfills.  Landfills are mostly comprised of small plastic bottles and when we are able to keep these plastic bottles away from the trash can, we help the environment eventually.

Soda Cans – Aluminum cans would take more than a lifetime to disintegrate. To be specific, it takes 500 years for the can to deteriorate. Before throwing any can to trash, think twice. Remember that people all over the world consume over 80 trillion cans of soda a year and one careful method from you is what it takes to make a mark to our environment.

Steel – Just like aluminum, steel is easily and quickly recycled together with paper and glass.

Dry cell batteries – When not properly disposed of, dry cell batteries can have toxic leakage which is detrimental to the environment. The good news is that there are recycling centers that recycle and cater to the recycling of dry cell batteries alone, so we do not have to worry about these items.

Well, there are still many items in the list but with these few, you will have a better idea on how to begin the day with recycling in your thoughts and saving the environment as a whole in all your efforts.