Fabulous fruity drinks and reducing your plastic bottle waste.

Did you know that the average British household throws away 500 single-use plastic bottles every year – and the number is growing? Shocking isn’t it. I did a count up of ours from the recycling bin last week and we had 4 big 2 litre bottles and 5 single serving size ones, so that makes us pretty average doesn’t it.

SodaStream, long-time advocates of reusable bottles, are calling on British families to join in – and make a real difference to seas and beaches around the country. Committing to cutting back on single-use plastic bottles will make a huge step in reducing pollution. Check out some of the facts about how using a SodaStream is better for the environment here.

 

 

According to multiple scientific sources, including the UN, plastic pollution is a major threat to the seas because of the huge length of time it takes to degrade. Although single-use plastic bottles can be recycled, 44% are not – and many of these end up in waterways and oceans, and strewn across beaches. They eventually break into shards, polluting waters, rocks and sands, causing an unsightly mess and threatening marine life.

“This is not sustainable over time,” says Rachel Smith of SodaStream, “as is evidenced by all the plastic in our seas, over our shores – and across our highways and byways. So we’re urging families to join in World Oceans Day and say no to single-use plastic.”

SodaStream believe the answer is to cut back on single-use bottles and switch to re-usable ones. “Recycling does work, but is not effective enough as it is clear large amounts of our plastic waste still ends up in or oceans” says Smith. So they challenged me to see if we could reduce the amount of plastic bottles my family throws away.

They sent me a SodaStream machine to use, to see if we could switch to making our own fizzy waters and drinks in the supplied re-usable bottle. And it worked – in the week since we started using the sodastream we only have one plastic bottle to add to our recycling bin – and that is my fault – I forgot to take a drink to work on a hot day and had to buy one. Usually I have been decanting the fizzy drinks we have made at home into a smaller screw top bottle and taking that with me. Plus, not only have I reduced my plastic footprint, I have also been drinking healthier drinks. I am not a fan of plain water and tend to buy things packed with caffeine and chemical flavorings – but with the SodaStream I have been making my own fizzy waters with a hint of fruit flavouring added from real fruit. Here are some of the drinks I have been enjoying :-

 

Adding a few chunks of watermelon adds a delicious fresh and fruity flavour to your fizzy water – then make it look pretty by adding a slice to the rim of your glass.

Roughly mash 2 or 3 strawberries with a fork, then mix them through your fizzy water for a sweet berry twist.

Lemon and lime is a classic zesty combo, perfect for a bit of added zing on a summer’s day.

 

Making fizzy water or other drinks with the SodaStream takes literally half a minute – add some ice and slice and you are all set for the perfect summer drink – and you use the same bottle for three years. That means you can carry on enjoying sparkling water and adding a fizz to other drinks at the same time as massively reducing your consumption of single-use plastic. Having a SodaStream is just one of many ways you can reduce your ‘plastic footprint’ – one that can give you immediate and measurable results.