Cool Product, Not Cool Packaging

Epoca's Cool Plus Probiotic Drinks are popular and tasty beverages. In fact, roughly 30 million of these drinks are sold annually. The containers themselves are made out of polystyrene, a type of plastic without a lot of flexibility. Polystyrene takes a long time to biodegrade. If it is not thrown away correctly, it could leak chemicals into the environment. One bottle is made of about 3.823 grams of polystyrene. That means that about 1,146,900,000 grams of polystyrene are used annually for the bottles of Cool probiotic. Everyday, around 1,369 tons of polystyrene (aka styrofoam) products are dumped and buried into US landfills. This waste could include these Epoca Cool drink bottles, which would contribute to a large amount of this waste. Since these type of products leak chemicals, it is very toxic for humans and other animals in that area.

There are more parts of the probiotic packaging as well. The lid to the bottles can be made of a mixture of materials (and metals) It can also pose a threat to the environment if not disposed of properly. Finally, buying the large packs of these Epoca Cool Plus Probiotic Drinks creates a massive amount of waste. The packs are common in grocery stores, including Costco, making them widely popular and enjoyed. There are extra plastic coverings around the entire package producing excess and unnecessary waste. Due to its massive popularity, these containers and packaging can be found anywhere, whether it be in stores, landfill, litter, recycling, houses, or more. The best thing that the consumer can do is properly recycle the packaging for a better environment and so the materials can be reused to make something else. Doing something simple like recycling can make a huge impact on our declining environment. It is the small things that truly matter, but talk to a recycling center for more information.

Sources: EarthEasy, Express, Green Living, Collier County, Chemical Safety Facts, How Stuff Works, Epoca, Stanford, EPA, Greening Forward