Everyone knows by now that habitually buying bottled water introduces a staggering amount of wasted plastic into the world. Even if you conscientiously recycle every bottle, that recycling process uses energy and would be unnecessary if you used a non-disposable drinking vessel instead.

For those who have ditched the bottled water habit but don’t trust what comes from their tap, water filters are an appealing solution. Filter-makers have seized upon environmental concerns, and Brita even teamed with Nalgene for an ad campaign disguised as a green awareness effort that asks readers to “take the pledge” to buy filters and reusable bottles.

Filter users in America, though, are realizing that filters have eco-drawbacks of their own: Namely, they aren’t recyclable. A web site called Take Back the Filter focuses on Clorox, maker of the #1 selling Brita filter. Although the European version of Brita maintains a take-back recycling program, Clorox has no such option stateside; products can’t currently be recycled or refilled with new filter material. Take Back The Filter is urging users to send them used filters, which they intend to deliver en masse to the company as a protest.

Some small companies are trying to fill this niche. ZeroWater, for instance, announced just this week that they’ll begin a take-back program that recycles 90% of each filter; Abundant Earth offers a range of filtration products it says it recycles. But until these startups own a substantial chunk of the market, they won’t keep most filters out of landfills.

Happily, though, the major players may be shifting: Judging from Clorox responses described here, the company has hinted it may have recycling options available within the year. Until then, of course, many of us are perfectly comfortable with our tap water.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media