| Zulu Atlas Glass water bottles. | Nalgene Plastic water bottle, which are BPA free. |
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| Source: http://www.viewpoints.com/Zulu-Athletic-Water-Bottle-reviews | Source: http://www.ndpromo.com/index.php/nalgene-water-bottle.html |
Introduction
Reusable water bottles are becoming more popular as people are aware of the benefits to the environment. However, there are many different types of reusable water bottles; some can be unhealthy for you as the chemicals they are made out of can leak into your liquid when exposed to sunlight for long period of time. Some can't be recycled due to certain types of chemicals that can't be melted down in the recycling process. I will be conducting my life cycle analysis upon a Zulu Atlas Glass Reusable Water Bottle and Nalgene plastic BPA free Reusable Water Bottle. Both of these products are designed to hold your liquid and you can refill them without the need to buy or open a new disposable water bottle. However, the certain type of water bottle you use may cause health risks over time.
LCA Analysis
Zulu Atlas
The Zulu Atlas Glass Water Bottle is made up of soda lime glass which is 100% recyclable. The soda lime glass is composed of about 70% silica, 15% sodium carbonate, 15% calcium oxide (Cichocki). Silicon is composed from the reaction of silica and carbon materials like coal ("Silicon."). Once the materials are gathered is it manufactured in China and then transported to the United States, which is then driven to Eureka. So therefore, there will be a lot of CO2 emission from the boat and truck that it takes to transport it to Eureka. Once transported, the consumer can now use it to hold their drinks until it breaks if the consumer accidently drops it. Although the product has a protective sleeve made of silicon around the glass, there is still a possibility. The materials can then be taken to a recycling center.
Soda lime glass cannot hold hot water; it can melt the glass, which could get into your drink. The suction cup and the protective casing around it is made of silicon. Heat exposure is also a bad thing for silicon, which can lead to the chemicals leaking into the liquid ("Zulu."). Other than that, glass is very safe for liquid to stay in for a long period of time and chemicals don't leak into your liquid over time (Cichocki).
| Table 1: Zulu Atlas Glass Water Bottle Life Cycle Assesment |
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| Caption: Life cycle assessment of Zulu water bottles. |
Nalgene
The Nalgene BPA Free Plastic Water Bottle are made with copolyester, which forms when modifications are made to polyesters, which are diacids and diols combined. Once materials are gathered, they are manufactured in the U.S. Then it is transported from New York to Eureka, Ca. Once transported to the stores, consumer cannot use it to hold their liquid, until the condition of the bottle is bad for use. Only the cap can be recycled, and the bottle goes to landfill as there are chemicals made in the bottle that can't be recycled. And there is no way to extract the chemicals out of the bottle. (Liza 2008)
When left in heat or sunlight, the water bottle can melt and the chemicals can leak into the liquid, which over time can be a health risk.
| Table 1: Nalgene Plastic BPA Free Water Bottle Life Cycle Assesment |
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| Caption:Life cycle assesment of Nalgene water bottles. |
Calculations
Zulu Atlas Glass Water Bottle Transportation Calculations Analysis
Zulu's water bottles are manufactured in China, so the products are shipped by boat to the U.S and then by truck to Eureka, CA. One trip from China to San Francisco, California is 6,536 miles. For this analysis, assume that one trip from China to San Francisco by boat is equivalent to 50,000,000 million cars making that one trip (Evans 2009). According to Krisher, the average car today has an average of 24.1 miles per gallon of diesel.
Then from San Francisco to Eureka, CA, is about 271 miles. Assume 22.21 pounds of CO2 per gallon of diesel and a truck averages about 7.3 miles per gallon (Williams 2013).
Nalgene Plastic BPA Free Water Bottle Transportation Calculations Analysis
Nalgene's water bottles are manufactured in the U.S, so products are be shipped by truck from Rochester, New York to Eureka, California. It is about 2,384 miles from Rochester to Eureka. For this analysis, assume 22.21 pounds of CO2 per gallon of diesel and a truck averages about 7.3 miles per gallon (Williams 2013).
Conclusion
Based on the calculations and comparison, Nalgene is more environmentally friendly as it does not emit as much CO2 as Zulu during transportation. Although, Nalgene may have chemicals that can leak into your water bottle, which can be a health risk, when exposed to heat, being careful can reduce those risks. If bottle is taken care of, bottle can be used for a long time, instead of it having to go to the landfill in a short period of use.
Reference
Blake, Mariah. "These Popular Plastic Bottles May Be Messing with Your Hormones." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 16 June 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Cichocki, Andrzej. "Glass, Soda-lime." Environmental Impact. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
"Copolyester." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Evans, Paul. "Big Polluters: One Massive Container Ship Equals 50 Million Cars." Gizmag. Gizmag, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Krisher, Tom. "Average New Vehicle Fuel Economy Hits Record 24.1 Miles Per Gallon, Says EPA." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 08 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Liza. "Time to Toss Your Nalgene Bottle?" Science Buzz. National Science Foundation., 22 Apr. 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
"Nalgene | The Original Water Bottle. Made in the USA. BPA Free." Nalgene. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Materials | Nalgene." Nalgene. Nalgene, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
"Silicon." How Products Are Made. Advameg, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Williams, Rebecca. "LCA Analysis: Tillamook Cheddar Cheese vs. Loleta Cheddar Cheese." LCA Cheese Analysis. Humboldt State University, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
"Zulu." Athletic -| High Performance Glass Water Bottles. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.