Pressure Is on to Recycle Water Filters
The campaign by environmentalists against plastic water bottles has been a boon to makers of tap water filters, which have been highlighting their greener-than-thou credentials. Both the Brita and the PUR brands are running ads that mock the wastefulness of bottled water.
But some of those spots are being lampooned by people who point out that water filters cannot be recycled, at least in the United States. "In order to give up bottled water, you have to switch to another plastic product that's not recyclable," said Beth Terry of Oakland, Calif., who has started an online campaign to try to persuade Clorox, the company that owns Brita, to start recycling the filters.
Ms. Terry has collected more than 15,000 signatures for a petition, on TakeBackTheFilter.org, which she set up in April. She has also amassed more than 374 Brita filters for recycling.
In some countries in Europe, like France and Germany, consumers can return Brita water filters to the manufacturer for recycling or drop them off in stores. But in the United States, municipal waste systems are not equipped to recycle Brita filters, a situation that Clorox is trying to address, according to a letter from Donald R. Knauss, chief executive of Clorox, to a member of Ms. Terry's group.
Drew McGowan, a Clorox spokesman, said the cost of a nationwide recycling program would be "absolutely astronomical, and there's no way any one company can afford to do this." Nonetheless, a test program may begin within the next year that will let people return the filters to retail stores, he said.
Respond: Do you use water filters?
But some of those spots are being lampooned by people who point out that water filters cannot be recycled, at least in the United States. "In order to give up bottled water, you have to switch to another plastic product that's not recyclable," said Beth Terry of Oakland, Calif., who has started an online campaign to try to persuade Clorox, the company that owns Brita, to start recycling the filters.
Ms. Terry has collected more than 15,000 signatures for a petition, on TakeBackTheFilter.org, which she set up in April. She has also amassed more than 374 Brita filters for recycling.
In some countries in Europe, like France and Germany, consumers can return Brita water filters to the manufacturer for recycling or drop them off in stores. But in the United States, municipal waste systems are not equipped to recycle Brita filters, a situation that Clorox is trying to address, according to a letter from Donald R. Knauss, chief executive of Clorox, to a member of Ms. Terry's group.
Drew McGowan, a Clorox spokesman, said the cost of a nationwide recycling program would be "absolutely astronomical, and there's no way any one company can afford to do this." Nonetheless, a test program may begin within the next year that will let people return the filters to retail stores, he said.
Respond: Do you use water filters?
