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The late, great comedian, George Carlin, used to do a comedy bit about how he saw people, everywhere he turned, carrying a water bottle. He punctuated this hilarious routine with an exasperated question: “Just when did everyone get so thirsty?” As funny as this was, his keen observation about the increase of people carrying their own drinking water containers points to a more serious problem: plastic water bottles have become one of the biggest sources of pollution in the U.S. Plastic bottles have got to go!

In recent years bottled water has become one of the giants of the beverage industry. As Americans continue to demand clean drinking water, this industry has gone full-throttle to ensure that each and every person is able to have their own drinking water container, when and where they want it. Unfortunately, “full-throttle” means that over 60,000,000 plastic bottles are produced, transported and disposed of EVERY DAY in the U.S. alone!

Don’t get me wrong. I like having the convenience of drinking clean water from my own drinking water container. However, there is no evidence that bottled water is any cleaner than most tap water. The government doesn’t even require bottled water be any safer or purer than tap water. So what you’re buying (and I’ve been guilty of it too) is a slick advertising concept that makes it seem as if this bottled water just bubbled up from a mountain spring. And then you’re stuck with having to dispose of this polluting plastic.

So does this mean that personal drinking water containers are a bad idea? Absolutely not! You can still drink clean, filtered water conveniently from your own personal drinking water container. All you have to do is use drinking water containers that have been designed to be used over and over again. The best reusable containers are made from glass.

Besides being 100% recyclable, glass containers have other advantages. Glass preserves the taste and purity of filtered water. Water stored in plastic bottles risks becoming contaminated from plastic byproducts, like BPA and phthalate. As these substances leach from the plastic, the water loses its taste and purity. Glass doesn’t have this problem.

And let’s not forget that refilling and reusing these drinking water containers is going to mean more money in your pocket. If you are buying bottled water on a regular basis, it can get expensive.

There is also a psychological advantage to using glass drinking water containers When you’re thirsty and looking in the fridge for something good to drink, and you spot a crystal-clear, cold glass container of water, you’re going to instinctively reach for it. Drinking more clean, healthy water is one of the best ways to promote good health.

These non-polluting, drinking water containers are readily available from most reputable water filtration system providers. You can find these providers, like I did, with just some simple research. When you’re drinking filtered water, conveniently, from your own reusable drinking water container you will be doing yourself and our planet a big favor.

Americans buy over $22 billion plastic water bottles per year, which translates to over 70 million bottles consumed daily. Recent reports have many consumers confused as to whether it is safe to drink from these bottles. Since only 17% are recycled, there are also environmental concerns.

The safety reports about Bisphenol a (BPA) in plastic are not generally found in the single use plastic water bottles purchased by most people. If there is a resin recycle code #1 on the bottom of the bottom, it uses PET, which is generally considered safe. The resin code that can indicate the presence of BPA is #7, although not all code #7 bottles contain BPA.

Even though most plastic water bottles do not contain BPA, they can still leach chemicals into the drinking water. To minimize this risk, keep bottles out of extreme heat, which can accelerate the leaching process. Internet rumors about freeze risks are false (however since water expands when frozen, drink a little before freezing to allow room for the expansion).

Plastic water bottles can be reused, but you must make sure to wash thoroughly with soap and water to eliminate bacteria. Allow to dry before refilling. I recycle mine after several uses or if it gets exposed to heat or the water develops a funny taste.

Bottled water can cost 2500 times more than tap water. Many brands of bottled water, including Dasani, are simply filtered tap water. Bottled water costs about $3-$5 per gallon. Regular community tap water, which is perfectly safe and tested regularly, costs about $2 per thousand gallons. You can buy a faucet filter and make your own filtered water for about $0.10 per gallon, or use a tabletop model like Brita for about $0.25 per gallon. To eliminate chlorine without a filter, you can use a trick I learned when I worked for a garden center about removing chlorine in irrigation water for delicate plants: leave the water uncovered overnight to allow the chlorine to dissipate.

Plastic bottles certainly have their use, and there are places where it can be impractical to bring a permanent reusable water bottle, but whenever possible, it is best to use a stainless steel or aluminum reusable water bottle.

Unfortunately, less than 20% of water bottles get recycled, despite demand for the resin from companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi which have pledged to use 10% recycled resin in their bottles. Few states have deposit programs which have been shown to increase recycle rates. In addition, only about half of all Americans do not have curbside pickup of recyclables. While becoming more common, most public places do not have water bottle recycle bins next to trash cans. We throw away close to 60 million plastic water bottles each day.

The bottom line is that plastic water bottles are safe, but harmful to the environment. The responsible choice is to use a reusable water bottle whenever possible, and make all efforts to recycle the plastic water bottles when a metal water bottle is impractical.