My quest to find a reusable drinking container

In the fall of 2005, I decided to drink more water. I started buying cases of water bottles because they were cheap and portable. I could feel good about striving toward my eight glasses a day and throwing my plastic bottles in the recycling bin.

By the next year, I noticed several of my friends toting outdoor reusable plastic bottles. A couple of girls I knew even had cute pink ones with designs on them. It seemed like a good idea to not be contributing as much plastic to the waste stream and the bottles were bigger. So, I bought one. I used that bottle for an entire year before I discovered that these #7 plastic bottles had been recalled due to bad health outcomes in studies on animals! I said goodbye to my old friend with a proper burial in the recycling bin and began the search for a new bottle.

First, I went back to the same company. I purchased their new plastic bottles that are made out of # 5 plastic, but somehow couldn’t allow myself to get too comfortable with the plastic taste in my mouth as I gulped down my precious H20. So, I tried an outdoor stainless steel option from another company. The water from that container had a nice metallic taste to replace the plastic one I was previously experiencing. Plus, I left my stainless steel container in my car for an afternoon in the South Texas heat and ended up finding rust spots on the inside of the mouth. I returned the bottle and was graciously provided a new one . . . but I started bringing glasses of water to work and refilling them in the sink.

A few months later, the stars were aligned and heaven smiled upon me as I chanced upon a glass bottle on the shelf in the water aisle at the grocery store. It . . . was . . . perfect! The tall ones hold 27 fluid ounces! And, the water I refill in it (even after sitting over night) still tastes like water! 2 recommendations: preferred method of cleaning (shaking water mixed with soap) and remember, you’re carrying glass!