I’ve decided to choose a plastic water bottle for this project. It’s an old Poland Spring bottle I drank a few days ago and forgot to throw out. While this item does not have any personal significance to me, I thought it fit this assignment as it’s something that many people have used and have never given much thought towards. I think that by learning where and how these small plastic bottles are made, we can better understand how to deal with the consequences of their mass production.
First, it’s important to discuss the water itself. Poland Spring (and it’s parent company, Nestle) claim that it gets its water from natural springs, which is correct. What it fails to mention is that the company doesn’t harvest the water itself but rather buys it from the water suppliers for local towns. These towns are the ones who collect the spring water and refine it, but Poland Spring buys and bottles it. This has led to several controversies over the years, such as towns running low on drinking water for its citizens due to a larger than expected purchase from Poland Spring. What was interesting to me is how Poland Spring managed to twist the origin of where the water comes from to make it seem as though they are the providers of water itself, and despite this we still buy bottled water on our campus despite having access to reusable water bottles and several dozen water fountains spread out around campus.
While the origin of the water has its own history, what I was really interested in was the origin of the bottle itself. About 60 million plastic bottles are thrown away every day, and most end up in landfills. This is devastating to the environment and shows that despite the societal movement to recycle, we as a society throw out far too much trash.
But this issue is in part caused by an overabundance of trash to begin with, or rather a surplus of trash as a result of our general way of life. For example, the US is predicted to produce over 1.5 billion plastic bottles in the year 2021. Each of these bottles will be drunk from, and while some may be recycled, studies show that the majority will be thrown into landfills. This raises the question: where do all of these bottles come from? While there are several sources for these water bottles, their biggest exporter is China who is responsible for producing around 30% of the world’s plastic products. Other exporters of plastic products, including water bottles, include Germany, the United States, France and Italy. With all of these global superpowers producing such a high quantity of plastic products, it’s no wonder why plastic bottles contribute to so much of the planet’s waste.
While I couldn’t find much information about the location where my specific water bottle was made and sealed, there was still much I learned from researching the origins of the bottle’s core components. What fascinated me the most was how the plastic that made the water, as well as the water itself, likely came from a large first-world country. Going into this assignment I was under the impression that a lot of the water bottled by Poland Spring was taken from smaller springs from less developed countries but it was interesting to see how little the creation of these water bottles actually influenced smaller countries and their economies.
Sources:
https://healthyhumanlife.com/blogs/news/plastic-water-bottle-pollution-plastic-bottles-end
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
Hi Shane,
great job! I like that you decided to focus on a simple, everyday object that can be found in every corner of our country and is often not given a second thought as to buying or disposing of one. It’s surprising that you were able to confirm that the water does in fact come from natural, smaller springs. I had always wondered how true that claim was. But it’s not surprising that a massive corporation like Poland Spring can essentially “own” the water from local natural resources. It is really sad that supermarkets, delis, and everywhere else really can sell bottled water to their customers at the expense of the small towns’ water supplies. This to me reiterates the necessity of preserving our planet for future generations and the fact that natural resources are not infinite resources! An eye-opening and disturbing truth. Thank you for this analysis!
Hi Shane! I apologize for commenting on this so late, but I found your focus particularly interesting. Your analysis and investigation into the origins of the water itself and the plastic bottle is particularly eye-opening. While you were unable to find the origins of your own water, the background you provided for Poland Springs conveys the far-reaching effects of the actions of one company.