Making an Impact: Reducing Single-Use Plastic Bottles

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Smiling girl with water glass
Smiling girl with water glass
Adrian Chiu
Adrian Chiu,  EVP and President, Pentair Water Solutions

11/15/2024

Making an Impact: Reducing Single-Use Plastic Bottles

As a leader in helping the world sustainably move, improve and enjoy water, Pentair is focused on delivering great tasting, higher quality water through innovative filtration technologies that also help reduce the consumption of single-use plastic water bottles. As part of our continuous effort to create a better world, more than 23.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles have been avoided by customers using Pentair residential water filtration systems since 2021.1 

The Problem with Plastic

Single-use plastic water bottles and cups take roughly 450 years to break down into microplastics and other chemical components, which pollute the environment long after the bottle was used.2 In addition, every ton of PET plastic uses oil to produce it and every ton of plastic results in 2.21 MT carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)3. That’s equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from 5,652 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle4! In contrast, reusable water bottles achieve a lower carbon footprint than single-use plastic water bottles after only 10-50 uses based on material5.

Young boy with glasses drinking a cup of water looking at camera

Smart, Sustainable Water Solutions

Our water filtration systems offer peace of mind through solutions that are tested and certified to the highest quality standards. Pentair filtration systems effectively reduce contaminants such as PFAS as well as lead, chlorine, minerals, and particles, which results in water that tastes better, smells better, and is better for your family. You can learn more about water sources, contaminants and treatment solutions on our Water 101 page.  

Great-Tasting Water on the Go

Staying hydrated while traveling can be a challenge, with single-use plastic water bottles often the only option. That’s why Pentair teamed up with the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to offer a better alternative. Earlier this year, Pentair installed 10 HOPE Hydration HydroStations that are equipped with filtration technology from Everpure from Pentair Water Solutions, providing MSP employees and travelers with the option to fill up their reusable water bottles with free, chilled and filtered water. To date, the HOPE stations at MSP have helped thirsty travelers avoid using nearly 1 million plastic water bottles. HOPE HydroStations with Everpure filtration technology can also be found at various locations and events around the United States including Times Square in New York, Formula 1 Miami, Coachella, and more.

 
 

1Based on cumulative sales of Pentair’s brands meeting this definition from 2021-2023.
2How Long Does it Take for Plastic to Decompose 
3Based on the EPA WARM model Version 16 (December 2023). 
4EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
5Stuff versus Stuff: Which water bottle?

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