5 New Uses For Your Old (Maybe Toxic) Water Bottles

Guest post by Chelsea Green's Makenna Goodman:

The water bottle that (kind of) defined a generation...is really a killer.

Last year, toxic plastic struck close to home. In April 2008, the FDA deemed Nalgene water bottles--those awesome, never-break, never-leak containers you had come to depend on--as unsafe for use, due to dangerous levels of toxicity in the plastic. Durability, in other words, came at a higher price than ten bucks. Most of us tossed our bottles out with the trash, and went for the stainless steel varieties deemed safe. But many stubbornly continued to use their Nalgenes anyway; what doesn't have chemicals, right? Well, according to Mark Schapiro, author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power, you really don't want to mess around with this stuff. What the FDA found in these old Nalgenes is enough to make you run for the hills.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a highly toxic chemical and plastic additive, "makes plastic more rigid and unbreakable," according to Schapiro. But this should not be considered a dream product for the outdoors enthusiast. In fact, he adds, "BPA has been linked to the development of prostate and breast cancer in adults," and in regard to the latter, "mimicking estrogen and being carcinogenic." Case closed. When the FDA broke this news, Nalgene stopped making bottles with BPA at the price of super-durability, and now we're safe. To the burn pile! But not so fast--throwing them out doesn't really do the environment any good either, and the last thing we want to do is create more toxic waste to clog the dumps. So what do we do with all our old Nalgenes? I've heard some nutty ideas, the best of which include detailed plans for a canine flotation device, lobster trap buoys, and a time capsule. But this isn't MacGyver. Here are five easy ways you can make the most of yours:

Convert them into solar lanterns: All you need is a solar-powered LED Light Cap200 to replace your old top, and voila. This water bottle cap is good for any bottle, actually, with a 2" mouth. All you have to do is fill your Nalgene with water (for weight against wind) and use for nighttime picnics or beside your bed. The brighter the color, the better.

Make your own toothbrush holder: Get your art on! Glue or tape a weird family photo on the bottle, and impress your guests. If your toothbrush isn't long enough to clear the lip, fill the bottom of the bottle with gravel, sand, or marbles. Just remember not to store your brush upside down...

Use for a flower vase: Considering you're going to cut them anyway, there's no harm keeping them in BPA plastic, unless you're planning on eating them as well (do I hate myself for saying this? Are flowers people, too?)

Fashion a hot water bottle: I know a guy who fills his old Nalgene with boiling water, wraps it in a ripped sock he can't wear anymore, and brings to bed come winter.

Handy picnic weights: How many times has your picnic been ruined by a blown over blanket? Never again, if you bring a nalgene filled with sand and weight down the corners.

Think about it. Reclaim toxicity.

Comments

[LITU]

NEVEREVER trust the FDA.

[PatA]

Why did you buy bottled water in the first place? Did you NEVER consider where they would go when you threw them out? In our overcrowded landfills where they will stay for the 100 years.

[Charlie King]

Because, smartguy, these are reusable bottles, purchased empty, not bottles of filtered water. Most Nalgene users have one bottle for years. They SAVE space in the landfill, they don't fill it.

[CatherineofSienna]

Someone needs to fact check these articles. This article made me panic and I started doing some research and cannot find the FDA statement this author mentions. All the statements I've found from the FDA and others say that so far they believe PBA containers are safe for humans, including a statement dated April 2008, the date the author mentions. More recent statements say the same thing. Even the Europeans who are usually more cautious, seem to think it's fine. Can someone give me some hard facts otherwise, so that I can make a sound decision about over $100 worth of Nalgene bottles? Thanks!

[madfigs]

It was banned in Canada, but the US FDA did not ban it, saying it wasn't a big enough health risk to warrant a ban.
Does it really not pose a health risk, or did the FDA not want to cut into profits of companies that use BPA, I don't know.

[Joye]

Oh, great.. Don't use this and don't use that. I don't use glasses made of glass-- I don't want to have to clean up a broken glass. I do use plastic ones from Wal Mart. I do use coffee cups to drink soda out of.. Easier to handle than glass. Just saying.

[CommonSenseMom]

Why do you need the FDA to explain to you that plastic is made from CHEMICALS?
Are you not able to understand that when plastic is heated or when it gets old it leaches those CHEMICALS into your beverage?

Do you even think about where your styrofoam cup goes when you throw it in the trash? Do you think it just disappears? Well, it does.....in about a 100 million years after it has broken down in the landfill and leached CFC's into your drinking water.

THINK man. Come on. THINK.

[sensiblethinking]

Yeah, well your body is made from chemicals too! LAUGH.

[Hedgehogging]

Why not sue this company and make them pay for the clean up? See, this is the hypocrisy of our government and our suspect law system.

In pre-Corporatism USA, we would have been able to, not only put this company out of business, but made them pay for the clean up and disposal of these bottles.

Now, in modern USA, this company gets to keep operating and there's ZERO accountability.

That is the current USA for you: ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY!

[LITU]

A bit extreme, but DAMNright on the money.

[Jen1025]

I've converted my old nalgene bottles into 'first aid kits,' which is actually one way they are marketing the older bottles. Pick up the basics, bandaids, antibiotic ointment packets, etc., and it's a handy and brightly colored first aid companion.

[goddess1871]

That's a good idea!

[BlackYowe]

Use it to store your coins or buttons, LOL.

[MossyOak]

That's a better idea than the lame ones in this article.

[Bridget Cabibi-Wilkin]

Definitely my favorite use of the one's I've heard so far!

[KennethBowen]

My old and trusty BPA laden Nalgene bottle is now serving 'duty' as a piss bottle for snow camping (when it's too cold to get out of the tent/snow hole. It is adorned with warnings and some tape so that it can be tactilely identified in the dark - to avoid the disaster of confusing it with the drinking bottle.

[MossyOak]

Too cold to get out of your tent.... what a weenie! :)

[LITU]

One of my former bottles has been a pissbottle in my boat for some time.

[aradia]

Can anyone tell me if it's OK to use my old Nalgenes with BPA for dry food like rice, flour or peanuts? Is it only liquid that causes BPA to leach out?

[klbrz]

Guys, this stuff is also in canned food - beans, tomatoes, etc.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/bpa-danger-from-cans.php
Even food from many of the organic companies have it in the lining of the cans.
http://organicgrace.com/node/316

[DeanAdams]

I wonder if the "bad" bottles have been shipped off to developing nations and sold to people without access to this information? It would not be a surprise at all.

[MossyOak]

US companies have been sending banned and recalled products to US territories for years, the USVI especially. Like school buses with faulty mirrors, bikes with bad brake pads, and those awful peel away snack can lids that slice little fingers, etc... There are a lot of plaintiff lawyers living high on the hog there because of this policy.

[JnrNorman]

microwave them into diesel

[revhatchell]

wtf??? why are they still selling these??? I've bought nalgene bottles directly from nalgene in the last 6 months.

that's all i've been drinking out of for the past year. holy sheet am i peesed. seriously. get me a lawyer.

[Megan97401]

I know, it's ridiculous. I don't understand why there wasn't some huge information campaign to get people to stop buying and using these things. It's something I'd heard through the grapevine and accepted as true, yet had not heard a concrete statement against them.

If the FDA deems them unsafe for use, how are they still allowed to be sold?

[HotheadPaisen]

If the FDA deems them unsafe for use, how are they still allowed to be sold?

Ask the tobacco lobby.

[Megan97401]

Did a little research. Nalgene uses a different non-BPA plastic for their hard water bottles now.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/nalgene-dumps-bpa.php

[PDXTransplant]

I like the solar cap idea a lot, but not for $20 bucks. Seems a little steep to me. Great ideas!

[Elizah Leigh]

For a good 8 years, I used my Nalgene bottle religiously throughout the day and evening without a care in the world. I would leave a backup Nalgene bottle in my car for "emergency thirst quenching opportunit­ies"...jus­t in case my other bottle was unexpectedly incapacitated. I recall that not-so-tasty water drinking experience...taking a hearty slurp and wondering why on earth I was willingly swallowing something so chemical-tasting, but for some reason I managed to shrug it off every time. I have not yet had children but I have to wonder what that steady stream of toxicity has done to my reproductive system. Although I read a LOT of green-themed articles, your suggestions on what to do with old Nalgene bottles aside from throwing them out was by far one of the more unique compilations out there. I did recently find an interesting video clip suggesting some very original ways to recycle old soda bottles on a green social network called Greenwala. If anyone is interested in taking a peek, just paste this link into your browser: http://www.greenwala.com/my_videos/302-8-Cool-Ways-To-Recycle-Plastic-Soda-Bottles