Packaged Drinking water is being sold and served by “Single Use” water bottles,  usually made from Poluethylene terephthalate [PET/PETE] which is cost effective and light weight.  Is the PET bottles are safe? free from bacteria? No monomer release during repeated use?

A study found traces of a phthalate, a harmful plasticiser, used to make the plastics more flexible, in water from PET bottles. Apart this, A substance called antimony is used in PET production and it can leach into the water in PET bottles. Few brands are using Polycarbonate for making Water bottle which are sturdy, Polycarbonate is made of a monomer called bisphenol A (BPA).

This BPA breaks down over time and get released into water, when the bottle is heated or repeatedly washed the BPA starts deteriorating and released into water. The harmful effects of BPA  to human is not yet identified in detail, but prolonged in take might results into serious health concerns. The “Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI)  agreed internationally for BPA is 0.05 mg per Kilogram of body weight per day.

While doing research on this topic i came to know that “PVC” is considered dangerous for making water bottles as they has phthalates and releases the same in water.

But in India PVC Pipes are commonly and widely used for water piping.

While purchasing the water bottles and poly products check for their recycle code, Re cycle code is the simplest way we can validate the bottle’s safety. If the Recycle code is 3 or 7 – Just avoid them.

The best bottles to use and reuse are those with the recycling codes 2, 4 and 5.

Bottles made from Polyethylene and Polypropylene are 2,4 & 5.

Source Article written by Professor Michael Moore of Water Quality Research Australia.