BLUEWATER, a water purification technologies and solutions company, has slammed single-use plastic bottles as ‘ocean enemy #1’ at a major sustainability conference in Porto, Portugal.
Mr. Bengt Rittri, founder and CEO of Bluewater, told delegates to the Sustainable Brands 2019 Oceans Summit that production of throwaway plastic bottles continues to grow despite the evidence of the environmental pollution they cause.
“Single-use plastic water bottles are ‘ocean enemy #1’ and need to be phased out urgently due to the environmental consequences they pose to marine, human and planetary health,” Mr. Rittri said.
He noted that hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year, creating micro plastics that have already infiltrated the human and wildlife food and water chains to pose potential health risks.
A recent study by a team of researchers at Bangor University, UK, found plastic outnumbers baby fish by seven to one in waters off Hawaii. The study also discovered micro plastic particles in the stomachs of commercially fished species such as swordfish.
Bluewater has won global recognition for its highly-efficient, compact residential, business and public distribution water purifiers that remove chemicals, toxic metals, pharmaceutical residues, and micro-plastics from tap water.
Bluewater hydration stations and sustainable stainless-steel bottles today are increasingly used at global sporting, musical and other events taking a stand against single-use plastic bottles, including The Open golf tournament, Cape Town Marathon and Volvo Ocean Race.
“We believe it is the task of business to harness human ingenuity to develop and deliver the technology and solutions that can return our planet to health,” Mr. Rittri told the audience at Sustainable Brands attending a panel arranged by The Ocean Race.
“Clean seas are a condition for the survival of us, our children, and generations to come. None of us can afford to sit still and let this catastrophic plastic tsunami overwhelm us,” Mr. Rittri said.
