One Redditor has shared a simple swap that saves them hundreds of dollars a year.
The swap, posted to the r/Frugal subreddit, serves as an alternative to buying and consuming bottled water — and the solution comes in the form of a Brita-filtered water pitcher.
The frugal shopper shares just how substantial their savings have been. They illustrated this by breaking down their former plastic bottle expenses and their current Brita filter costs.
"Instead of paying $24 a month for bottled, I'm now paying roughly $6.50 for two months which includes the cost per gallon of tap water," wrote the original poster.
While the financial benefits of moving away from plastic bottles are reason enough, this solution is also meaningful and effective in regard to sustainability. This has not gone unnoticed by the original poster, who noted at the end of their post that saving money and not having to worry whether or not their plastic bottles are actually getting recycled is a win-win.
They are right to be concerned about where their plastic bottles go since 75% of them end up in landfills, on the side of the road, or polluting oceans and other waterways. Their often haphazard disposal and 450-year lifecycle have substantial impacts on the environment.
Plastic bottles are also harmful in their production. Ironically, it takes three times as much water to produce a plastic bottle than it does to fill it –– and due to the chemical production of plastics, this water is then rendered mostly unusable.
Water usage is not the only production problem. We use 17 million barrels of oil each year just to produce water bottles –– enough energy to fuel over a million cars for a whole year.
The original poster is not the only one reluctant to buy and drink plastic water bottles.
"I absolutely cannot stand paying for bottled water," wrote one user.
Commenters are also in agreement with the OP that the benefits of moving away from plastic bottles are plentiful.
"With the plastic waste alone it's a no brainer, but then when you factor in the cost it's crazy," wrote another user.
With alternatives such as Brita filters –– and clean tap water for those in areas where it is safe to consume –– the decision to stop buying plastic water bottles is nothing but beneficial.
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