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I think this is an excellent post. The reason why is because people easily get so hung up on recycling and how green it is, but then they don't think about if possibly sometimes throwing something away is more green than recycling it because of all the energy used.

I think this post addresses this with the water filters and I think its a good take on it. Thank-you!

-Kate
www.greenertrends.com

an interesting perspective, but not really one that is going to promote real change. sure, it's not efficient now, but if we looked into transportation alternatives to compliment/fascilitate good recycling practices, we'd have two things in the bag. in the meantime, I'm not going to be throwing things away thinking it's not worth it because we've screwed up so much other stuff in how we do business today. feels like quitting because we're down.

Hi. You bring up some arguments we've heard before. Here are my responses:

1) Just because water filters are not as big of a problem as plastic bags doesn't mean they shouldn't be addressed. Most of the supporters of our campaign have already given up most disposable plastics and are looking for the next step.

2) Transporting the filters back to be recycled will used less energy overall than wasting the old filters and creating and transporting new filters from new plastic. Please read the article on my personal blog, Fake Plastic Fish, for an analysis of the reasons recycling is an extremely important part of any climate change program: Take Back The Climate.

3) Yes of course there is other waste to focus on. And I personally am focused on all plastic waste, a topic I write about extensively on Fake Plastic Fish. But that doesn't mean I want to let water filter manufacturers off the hook just because there are other types of plastic that are a problem.

The fact is that many types of disposable plastic are avoidable, if people are willing to give up a little convenience. And as far as that rigid plastic packaging, somewhat ought to start a campaign against it. How about you!?

But water filters are one of the few types of disposable plastic that many people can't or aren't willing to do without. We made the decision to go without the filter in our home after having our water tested. Others don't live in places that have such great water. And there are no options right now for them but to continue to buy and waste new plastic.

Take Back The Filter is a small part of a larger movement towards Extended Producer Responsibility. The time and energy going into this campaign is very small, thanks to the power of the Internet. But what we stand to gain in terms of education and promoting the idea of producer take-back is tremendous.

Thanks. I hope I have given you a bit more food for thought.

Beth Terry
Take Back The Filter

I think the tone of the campaign is kinda silly. It comes off like "We're buying Britta filters still but WE'RE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!". If you have cradle-to-cradle concerns about disposable charcoal water filters just stop using them! If you're drinking tap water already why bother filtering with a disposable and fairly wimpy filter anyhow?

Replacement filters are highly lucrative for companies like Britta. At $5 or more a pop for a piece of plastic and some active carbon charcoal you can bet there's a rather huge mark-up.

As per the endless logistical debate about taking back filters I think it's the wrong road to a sustainable product. Given that the charcoal filters are made of an organic element and mostly remove minerals they'd be a perfect candidate for a system that is compost-able. Simply produce a high-quality reusable filter vessel, such as Britta does with it's pitchers already, that once spent simply unlocks and ejects the filter elements.

But personally I think filtering most municipal tap water and well water is just ritual. If you have legitimate water quality issues invest in a permanent system that uses more effective means like reverse osmosis for your entire home.