Filtered Water: Preventing Billions of Plastic Bottles from Flooding U.S. Communities

It’s time to take action to expand water equity and access to the 2 billion people around the world who don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. Water filters offer a solution that can remove many of the dangerous water contaminants—without billions of single-use plastic bottles—during water disasters and poor infrastructure like the toxic lead service lines bringing water into the homes of 22 million people in the U.S.

In our March webinar, Filtered Water: Preventing Billions of Plastic Bottles From Flooding U.S. Communities, we discussed how proactive distribution of filters is a sustainable and affordable solution for providing clean water to the millions of people in the U.S. waiting to undergo the replacement of toxic lead pipes. Our panel explored why single-use plastic bottles are not the solution, as they are toxic to produce, can leach dangerous chemicals and microplastics into the water they carry, and end up in landfills or the surrounding environment.

We were joined by a panel of expert scientists and community advocates, including Deandrah Cameron, Policy Manager at New Jersey Future; Dr. Sherri Mason, Associate Research Professor and Director of Sustainability at Penn State Erie Behrend College; and John Rumpler, Clean Water and Get the Lead Out Director at Environment America. The conversation was moderated by Madison Dennis, Project Manager for the Plastic Pollution Coalition Filtered Not Bottled campaign.