Hang Onto That Bottle: Unique Filter Makes Tap Water Safe

trash-reducing water filter

Empty water bottles will soon be the next cigarette butt – so ubiquitously used that they’ll be the random clutter you see in gutters and alleyways. They’ll soon overtake rats as the king of the landfill. Reusable bottles have helped displace some of the plastic, but some just prefer bottled water. The WaterBean wants to be the answer to this problem.

in-bottle water filter

A portable water filter, the WaterBean is said to make tap water taste better. Its genius lies in its relatively small-picture purview: Rather than working on solving the world’s clean water crisis, it aims to quell the endless chain of bottled water usage. And it’s a filter, not a purifier. The WaterBean’s simple charm hopes to make bottled water drinkers reuse their bottle instead of using it once and discarding it.

Entrepreneur Graeme Glen, the brains behind the WaterBean, claims one person will go through 167 bottles per year. Add the fact that 75% of plastic bottles go un-recycled, and that makes 1.5 million metric tons of weight added to our already overflowing landfills. Glen turned to IndieGoGo to raise funds to fix this environmental blight.

waterbean water filter

If simplicity is its basic element, than using it is the pinnacle of its existence. It’s tubular, so it easily fits in almost any plastic water bottle. After it becomes submerged, you simply shake the bottle for about five seconds and swirl the water around. Its filter is made from activated coconut carbon and is fully compostable. The WaterBean, with proper care, could last a lifetime, which is about as much time needed to fix the bottled water problem.

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See more in Home & Personal or under Gadgets. August, 2013.