Environmentally Responsible Water Filtration

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.”

— Jacques Cousteau

Global Concern

One of mine and many others concern is plastic pollution not only for our planet but also for our bodies.

Last October the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on single-use plastics such as straws, plates, cutlery and cotton-swab sticks in Europe by 2021, joining a global shift as environmentalists emphasize the urgency of halting the use of materials that are detrimental to the planet. Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds, will be banned in the EU. These products, which constitute over 70% of marine litter, will be banned from the EU market from 2021, under draft plans approved by Parliament.

While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become addicted to single-use or disposable plastic with severe environmental consequences. Up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. There are over 100 million plastic bottles used each day globally and nearly 80% of these end up in our landfills. This means that only 20% are recycled. Approximately 1500 bottles end up in landfills and the ocean every second accounting for 2 million tons of plastic bottles that are landfilled each year.  It takes 700 years before plastic bottles start to decompose and can take up to 1000 years to fully decompose. Plastic waste is now so ubiquitous in the natural environment that scientists have even suggested it could serve as a geological indicator of the Anthropocene era.

In lieu of legislation, there are simple things we all can do to help with this problem.

Five Easy ways to reduce your plastic waste.

1. Bring your own shopping bags.

2. Bring your own thermos to the coffee shop.

3. Say no to straws.

4. Choose cardboard over plastic bags and bottles for packaged items.

5. Stop buying bottled water.

Many people are aware of the negative health and environmental impacts associated with plastic bottled water and we have blogged about this before.

When we consume bottled water, we pay far too much for it in terms of expense to our health and the health of our planet. Skipping the bottle is one step toward Being Healthy by Choice.

One thing that I have always appreciated about what we do in Nikken is to make people aware of a problem and then offer them a solution.

The Solution that is a Healthy Choice for our Bodies and our Planet.

Nikken water products are the perfect solution for this problem. Many times, when demonstrating the Nikken Waterfall or Sports bottle the person, I am meeting with, points out that our products have plastics. Yes, they do but they are of very different composition to those used in most bottled waters and other products.

Nikken considered fundamental aspects for its water systems including application of the types of plastics used for water filtration and storage to provide clean healthy water free of pollutants found in bottled water and many other types of water filtration units. Equally important to our mission and philosophy is to reduce pollution by contributing to the reduction of consumption of plastic bottles in the world.

Nikken water products contain safe, environmentally responsible materials. The PiMag Waterfall is environmentally responsible. It is manufactured using recyclable biodegradable materials, including a polymer that contains no bisphenols or phthalates and does not leach chemicals into water. These materials include:

PiMag Waterfall from Nikken

SAN - Styrene Acryl Nitrile

SAN is used for the filling and storage tanks of the Nikken PiMag® Waterfall. These kinds of plastics are stable and don't leach toxins.  They are used to make a variety of dinnerware and unlike polycarbonate, these plastics are, and always have been, BPA-free.

ABS - Acrylic Nitrile Butadiene Styrene

ABS is the plastic used for the base and caps of Pi Water, PiMag® Waterfall. An Eco-friendly plastic, ABS is a recycled plastic compound that is itself entirely recyclable. ABS is commonly considered to be a more durable, longer lasting, and an easily recyclable plastic.

Resin K

Is used in the filter cartridges of Nikken water systems. It is a thermoplastic polymer based on styrene and butadiene. It stands out for its transparency and hardness. Its development is the result of efforts to find a material that was not toxic.

When we consume bottled water, we pay far too much for it in terms of expense to our health and the health of our planet.

Be Heatlthy by Choice

Put the H (healthy) in Your H₂O

““Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.””

Water is Life.

March 22 is World Water Day.

World Water Day was first proposed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. It went into effect the following year and the first World Water Day was March 22nd, 1993

Each year a different theme is highlighted to bring awareness to water issues in several different areas. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

The theme for World Water Day 2018 was “Nature for Water”, exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century. In 2019, the theme was “Leaving no one behind” to emphasize that as a society, we cannot leave anyone behind as sustainable development progresses. The 2020 theme for World Water Day was “Nature and Climate Change”, which focused on the link between water and climate. This year’s theme is to answer the question, “What water means to you?”.

On this day we are all asked to “Take action, wherever you are and whatever you do on March 22, make it about water and what that means to you” For my part, and as a physiologist, water is life.

We are 65 to 70% water. It is essential for our existence and is vital to all physiological systems in our body. We need to maintain balance in our bodies, what we call homeostasis. To maintain a healthy body, we need to stay well hydrated with pure, healthy water the way nature intended.

We also need to Nurture the Nature of our planet to keep it in a state of balance and health or in other words, environmental homeostasis. Water is the most prevalent compound on earth and safeguarding this vital resource and awareness to act is the paramount goal of World Water Day. We must be diligent and make this part of our day-to-day activities and actions to help safeguard and improve our global water resources.

Here are few examples of simple actions that we can do to help with nurturing the earth’s water resources.

1.     Take shorter showers.

The average American showers about 6 times a week for an average time of 8.2 minutes, using 17.2 gallons of water. Over the span of a year, this uses 5,336 gallons of water. Multiply this number to account for the other 328 million Americans and you’ll find the nation uses about 1.8 trillion gallons of water a year showering.  This can be significantly reduced by shortening showers to 5 minutes.

2.     Meat-free Mondays.

National Geographic calculates the average hamburger takes about 630 gallons of water to produce. Both animals and their feed sources require water, which means the meat has an especially large water consumption footprint, with beef being the highest. By comparison, plants use far less water which is why many environmentalists encourage people to go meatless at least once a week. In fact, Meat-Free Mondays have even become a popular trend among celebrities, chefs, and health advocates as well. Each meatless meal saves nearly 133 gallons of water, so do your part by going meatless at least once a week.

3.     Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and washing dishes.

On average, about two gallons of water flow from a faucet each minute—meaning you can save about three to four gallons of water per day by simply turning off the water while brushing your teeth. In addition, turn off the tap while doing other daily tasks such as shaving and washing dishes. These simple alterations add up, saving thousands of gallons of water each year by simply turning off the tap when you are not directly using it.

4.     Filter your water.

Filtering water in your home is one of the best things you can do to help address the water crisis. Not only do you get to enjoy clean, healthy water—but filtering your water at home prevents the need for practices such as “flushing”—in which people run cold tap water for several minutes before drinking it. This process has not only been found to be ineffective, but it also wastes a significant amount of water. Instead, reduce contaminants using a dedicated water filter.

Many people choose bottled water or water delivery services because they do not trust their tap water or they object to the taste or smell of tap water. A filter provides a great way to eliminate those issues at home without the need to buy bottled water. You can eliminate bottled water and enjoy healthy, great-tasting water at home for a fraction of the cost while also making an environmentally conscientious choice.

5.     Use your own water bottle.

Did you know that it takes at least twice as much water to produce a plastic water bottle as the amount of water contained in that bottle? Additionally, single-use, plastic water bottles take up to 1000 years to biodegrade and approximately 80% of these water bottles will end up in our landfills and oceans. The manufacture and distribution of single plastic water bottles are also a significant source of carbon emissions. Any way you look at it, bottling water is a tremendous waste as far as resources and a major contributor to the pollution of our planet and wasteful of our most essential nutrient, Water.

Rather than relying on single-use plastic bottles which wastewater in production and have huge environmental impacts, use a reusable water bottle to do your part and help the planet. Filter your water at home and use your favorite bottle of choice or use a water bottle with a built-in filter to reduce contaminants and provide pure, healthy water on the go.

The solution to our global water issues and the plastic pollution of our planet is very complex and people often wonder what they can do as individuals to make a positive impact. One thing we all can do is not to contribute to landfills by filtering tap water rather than purchasing bottled water. In recent blogs, we have talked about the pollution problem with bottled water and about how to choose a water filtration system.

Filtering our tap water is convenient, cost-effective, and the best way to provide ourselves and our families with healthy water. Our personal choice for water filtration is the Nikken Waterfall. Imagine if we could create fresh spring water in our own home or office? This is the strategy behind the Nikken Waterfall.  The Nikken Waterfall System is an advanced, technically sophisticated, well-designed countertop home filtration system that converts tap water into fresh spring-like water. It’s as if Mother Nature poured you a glass of water.

For water on the go, the Nikken PiMag Sport Bottle is an excellent choice. Fill from any water fountain or tap and enjoy fresh spring-like water anywhere municipally treated water is available. The PiMag Sport Bottle uses patented nan-filtration and is made from bio-degradable materials. One PiMag Sport Bottle can replace 1400 single-use plastic water bottles per year that pollute our planet and consume our natural resources.

The Solution that is a Healthy Choice for our Bodies and our Planet.                                             

Nikken considered fundamental aspects for its water systems including the application of the types of plastics used for water filtration and storage to provide clean healthy water free of pollutants found in bottled water and many other types of water filtration units. Equally important to our mission and philosophy is to reduce pollution by contributing to the reduction of the consumption of plastic bottles in the world. For more information read Environmentally Responsible Water Filtration.

 Be Healthy by Choice