By:Henrylito D. Tacio
(Published in its print version on August 10-16, 2024)
(Last part of a series)
y popular. In fact, one million plastic water bottles are sold every minute globally, The Guardian reports. That’s about 20,000 bottles every second.
What most people don’t know is that water left in a plastic bottle for a long time is not safe to drink. Health experts claim that although water, in and of itself, does not go bad (the reason why there’s no expiration dates), the plastic bottle water is contained in does “expire.”
“Typically, water is bottled in PET for retail bottles,” explains drinkwater.com. “What’s alarming about this type of bottle is that plastics contaminate the liquid bottle once expired or exposed to excessive heat, including exposure to sunlight or hot cars. The toxic chemicals that are contained in this plastic will enter the water, not only affecting the taste of the water but also creating serious health implications for the consumer, as well.”
Although there’s really no precise way to predict exactly when the plastic will leach into the water, “the two-year expiration date is more of a guess of when the water bottle is most likely to have been exposed to heat or when it’s starting to degrade.”
Although PET bottles are approved for single use and for reuse, many manufacturers and consumer advocates urge the public to limit their PET bottles to one time use only. Plastic bottles are discouraged from being used, especially those that show even slight signs of wear and tear, such as cracks or dings.
“These allow chemicals to leach out of them more readily. Keep in mind that ears can be microscopic and hard to see. That’s one reason why one-use-only plastic bottles aren’t recommended for reuse,” writes healthline.com’s Corey Whelan.
“Use plastic bottles with caution,” Whelan urges. “Never heat or reuse them.”#
