08 June 2018

Cheers to Hydration!

Fill up your cup or reusable water bottle at all six PFM Markets!

Even when it’s not scorching hot, it’s easy to forget to hydrate while you’re visiting the farmers market. Bring a reusable water bottle—or even a cup—to refill right at the market. We’ve set up handy refill stations at each of our markets for your convenience, and to help reduce the waste the market creates. Still not convinced that reusable bottles are the way to go? The City of Portland has provided some fascinating facts on the subject.

Reduce your environmental impact by drinking from the tap instead of disposable plastic bottles.

Buying a reusable water bottle prevents the need to continue purchasing bottled water and according to the City of Portland’s Sustainability at Work program, has both environmental and personal benefits.

  • Energy– Drinking the same amount of water from the tap in a “typical” reusable bottle reduces energy consumption by 85% and greenhouse gas emissions by 79%. This is true even in the worst-case scenario, where the bottle is being washed frequently, in a highly inefficient dishwasher.
  • Oil– Disposable plastic bottles require a lot of resources for something that is only used once. If you imagine a plastic water bottle ¼ filled with oil – that’s about how much oil it takes to make each disposable bottle. Oil used to produce bottled water for the U.S. is equivalent to the amount of oil that would power 1 million cars for a year.
  • Water– It’s estimated that it takes 3L of water to make 1L of bottled water – 2L to make the plastic bottle and 1L to fill it.

Reuse your reusable water bottle. Drinking tap water is great for the environment, and there are also personal benefits to using a reusable water bottle.

  • Save money. Bottled water can be anywhere between 240 and 10,000 times more expensive than tap water depending on the type of bottled water purchased. Filling up a reusable bottle costs just a few cents, whereas bottled water is sold for anywhere between one and three dollars. A person who replaces their daily bottled water with a reusable bottle can save between $325 and $695 each year.
  • Stay better hydrated. Carrying around water with you means you’re able to drink water whenever you’re thirsty, making you more likely to stay well hydrated.
  • Protect your health. Some disposable plastic bottles are made from low grade plastics that can leech hormone disrupting chemicals called phthalates into the body. However, most reusable plastic bottles are made from safer plastics that are designed not to leech and are BPA-free.

Recycle disposable bottled water when you must buy bottled. Recycling disposable bottles reduces energy consumption throughout the bottles’ life cycle by almost 25%!

Source: Sustainability at Work