Seeking sustainability: The bottle

For the last few years, I’ve tried to waste less. As a marine biologist, I’ve witnessed first-hand the impacts of our dependency on plastic. The most motivational and hard-hitting moment for me was finding a large macroplastic fragment in a fish’s stomach. It’s not always easy choosing something more sustainable, or an option with less plastic. It’s also not easy to avoid plastic completely, as many places in the UK haven’t joined the ‘package free hype’ yet. So here’s a new series ‘Seeking sustainability’, showing the things I’m personally doing to try and reduce my impact on the natural world- in hope that it can motivate others to do the same.

Since the release of Blue Planet 2 in 2017, plastic has been seen as public enemy number one.

The Attenborough effect has opened the eyes of millions across the world to actively try and cut down their plastic use. The main culprit is single use plastic, which are items intended to only be used once and then disposed of such as straws, cotton buds and bottles of water or fizzy drinks.

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Plastic bottles are prevalent in society as a convenient way to grab a drink on the go. Unlike cans, bottles can be transported without spillage and saved for later. They’re often the only way to get something fizzy when you need a sugar rush and many peoples preferred type of water. However, plastic bottles are detrimental to the marine environment, often ending in waterways or bottle lids being swallowed by sea creatures.

One simple solution to reduce single use plastic bottles is the reusable bottle. The best part is that across the country (and world!) refillable water stations are becoming more accessible to the public. There’s even a website and app you can use to find the nearest refill station whilst on the go!

I personally prefer metal bottles for durability and the fact they aren’t as easily broken as plastic and glass. If you’re on the hunt for a decent reusable bottle, here are some brands I personally like (But am no way endorsed by):

• Chillys
• Klean Kanteen
• Hydroflask

So here is one simple way you can seek sustainability and do your part for the world.

Until next time,

Cate