St. Mary’s Hospital No Longer Uses Plastic Water Bottles

by Masha Vodyanik, age 14

    As part of an effort to become more “green”, St. Mary’s Hospital recently implemented a ban on plastic water bottles. To encourage more eco-friendly operations the hospital will no longer sell or distribute water in plastic containers.
    To make these bottles, industries use 900,000 tons of plastic, 17 million barrels of oil, and produce 2.5 million tons of CO2 annually. On top of that, only 20 percent of these water bottles are actually recyclable. The rest usually end up in landfills or the ocean. Plastic bottles may also contain toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, which can seep from the plastic into the water.
    Eco-friendly consumers can now use their reusable water bottles instead of having to buying a new one every time they get thirsty. This is a big leap towards restoring the environment.
    Health and environmental experts hope other companies and organizations will follow in St. Mary’s footsteps.

[Sources: Capital Times; http://stmarysmadison.com]

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