Tag: water bottle

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WATER REFILL IN INDIA

Drinking tap water in India is not recommended in most areas. Luckily, refill stations are widespread in the subcontinent. Bring your bottle and start refilling! In this blog we explain how.

1. WATER REFILL MACHINES

Refilling purified and cool drinks for 5 rupies per liter
When the train stops, you can run in and out for a water refill

At some squares, stations and other public places you can refill your own water bottle directly at a machine. This will cost around 5 rupies per liter. Many hotels and museums also offer free filtered water. If they don’t have it on display just ask for it.

2. FREE WATER FOUNTAINS

At many places you will find public drinking fountains with signs indicating ‘drinking water’. We did not test this water in a lab, but we did not get sick of it either. This water is always free of charge and you will see many Indians drinking from them.

Typical drinking water tap at a train station
Many people will use the same metal cup, so it’s smart to bring your own (cup or bottle)

3. ORDINARY TAP WATER

When traveling to any country where tap water is not potable, we recommend to bring a filter bottle, steripen or other filter. We are traveling in India with the Water-To-Go bottle. This enables you to refill at almost any tap and drink unfiltered water from restaurants. Then you never have to worry about buying plastic bottles.

REFILL IN INDIA

You may wonder if refilling is really necessary when you only travel a couple of weeks or months in India. Packaged bottled water is widely available and cheap (around € 0,20 per liter). And you don’t want to get sick because of contaminated water. But as a traveler, we feel you have a shared responsibility for your waste.

Many places lack a functioning waste management system, plastic waste is everywhere and many items end up burned instead of recycled.

So please:

  • Put in some extra effort for your water refills, while still using your head to assess the risks (e.g. does it look clean & trustworthy).
  • Don’t open free single use water bottles in hotels, trains, etc.
  • When ordering drinks, ask to serve it without a straw.
  • Water refills are only the first step. You may also want to bring or buy boxes for food parcels and a reusable cup for chai.

MORE REFILL IN INDIA TIPS

If you have more tips on how to refill in India, please leave your comment below. We would love to hear your thoughts.

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YOUR BBF: BEST BOTTLE FOREVER

Have you already found your BBF? No, we are not talking about your Best Friend Forever. We are talking about your Best Bottle Forever, or in short BBF. In this blog we explain you all the essentials on reusable bottles.

WHY DO I NEED A BBF?

First of all, we think it is much nicer to drink from a well-designed bottle than a shitty PET bottle. Some reusable bottles can keep the water hot or cool for hours. It also saves you money. Refilling is often free or at least a lot cheaper than buying new single-use plastic water bottles. Last but not least, it’s better for the planet.

WHAT IS THE FOOTPRINT OF A REUSABLE BOTTLE?

Many people ask themselves the question: What is better for the environment, to drink from a mug or use disposable cups? According to Plasticdieet, after 16 uses your mug becomes more sustainable (including washing your mug in between). The same principle works with water bottles.

Less resource are needed to produce a single PET bottle (read our other blog for more background information), but a reusable bottle lasts many years. The footprint of your BBF is not easy to determine, as it depends on the material, production, usage and finally disposal. A life-cycle analysis conducted by Simon Lockrey resulted in favour for durable plastic bottles over steel and aluminium. This was mainly due to the high energy use needed to produce steel aand alumimium.

Compared to single-use plastics, glass, bamboo, stainless steel and aluminium bottles are all seen as sustainable alternatives. When dividing over its lifetime, the associated greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste are minimised.

WHERE DO I REFILL MY BOTTLE?

Here our work as refill ambassador starts!

  • Your BBF is like a friend you always carry with you. Make it a habit to always fill her up before you go out.
  • Sitting in a café, bar or restaurant? Put up a friendly smile and ask the waiter whether you may refill your bottle. Do not feel embarrased about this, it’s a really normal thing to ask! Sometimes there is a tap or large jar available for customers (usually on the counter), and if not the staff can fill it for you behind the bar within 5 seconds.
  • Locate the nearest refill point with the help of a refill app. True, there are many apps and you need to know which one shows refill stations in your area. We try to bring these projects together, so in the future you don’t need to download ten different apps for each region.

HOW DO I CLEAN MY BOTTLE?

Like with a BFF, you need to pay love and attention to your Best Bottle Forever. Most bottle companies, like Dopper and Klean Kanteen provide cleaning instructions online. We recommend you to check these out for your brand. To make things easy, we listed some important cleaning tips:

  • You don’t need to wash your BBF after every single use, but make sure to wash it regularly. Use warm (but not boiling) water.
  • Avoid chemical dishwashing liquids, as your water can taste like it. Instead, soak your bottle in (baking) soda and (table) vinegar to remove funny smells and tastes.
  • Dry your bottle well after washing.
  • Water bottles are designed to drink water! Use a different bottle to drink soda, fruit juice or alcoholics.

 FIND YOUR BBF

Nowadays there are so many beautiful designs, it can be difficult to choose. Durable plastic bottles are lightweight, steel bottles can keep your water hot or cold, glass bottles are stylish. Think about the main purpose. Will you be using it while commuting to work, or on hiking trails? Also take into account the size of the bottle and its volume.

Once you have found your BBF, it can keep your company for years and will not let you down. So in the end, your bottle also becomes your Best Friend Forever.

Good luck and enjoy your BBF!

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