In hot environments, before you reach for a plastic water bottle to keep hydrated, you might think twice about whether it too has been wilting under a hot sun.
“The hotter it gets, the more the stuff in plastic can move into food or drinking water,” says Rolf Halden, director of the Centre for Environmental Health Engineering at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute.
According to industry group the International Bottled Water Association, bottled water should be kept in the same conditions that consumers keep other groceries.
“The bottom line is that glass is better than plastic, wherever possible,” says Taylor. “Otherwise, the message should be to keep the water bottle in a bag or covered when not in use (not exposed to bright sunlight for long periods of time) and not to leave plastic bottles in a hot car as temperatures rise fast at this time of year.”
“If you don’t want it in your body, don’t increase the material flow of it into society,” he says.
“If you drink water from one PET bottle, will that hurt your health? Probably not,” he says. “But if you go through 20 bottles a day, then the question of safety is an entirely different one.”
Resources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2019/07/exposed-extreme-heat-plastic-bottles-may-ultimately-become