Are boxed cartons the new plastic bottles?


Photo by Raymond Francisco on Unsplash

Like most Americans, when I’m on the go and need a quick beverage most of the time I opt for some type of beverage in a plastic bottle. Usually these bottles end up in the recycling bin but they can also end up in landfills. That’s a lot of plastic bottles being tossed every day considering on average each individual consumes 167 plastic bottled waters a year, and that’s only for water. Is there a way to reduce that number other than forgoing store-bought beverages all-together?

Luckily, a new trend that has started becoming more widespread is the boxed, or carton beverage. It’s similar to the cartons of milk that most of us are familiar with from when we were in school. One company making way in the carton trend is Boxed Water. Boxed Water has increasingly become more popular and has been arriving in multiple grocery stores. 

Unlike a lot of the plastic beverage bottles out there, whereas the hard plastic lid is not recyclable, boxed water is fully recyclable and 76 percent of the carton is made with paper from certified, sustainably managed forests. Although the Boxed Water carton is not 100 percent plastic-free, it contains roughly 20 percent plastic and 6 percent aluminum, it is a better alternative to plastic water bottles. 

If you’re not able to have a reusable bottle, which are most eco-friendly of all bottled beverages, next time you stop by the store for a quick beverage consider buying a boxed beverage instead of the plastic. It won’t reduce your carbon footprint completely, but it will slowly help the amount of plastic being tossed each day.


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