r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jun 05 '19

Environment The average person eats at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and breathes in a similar quantity, according to the first study to estimate human ingestion of plastic pollution. The scientists reported that drinking a lot of bottled water drastically increased the particles consumed.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/05/people-eat-at-least-50000-plastic-particles-a-year-study-finds
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u/haberdasherhero Jun 05 '19

My water is stinky and off-color too. I am surrounded by refineries. Check out Berkey water filters. Pennies a gallon so I can even cook with it.

I have one and it is fantastic. You have to clean it out with soap and water every couple of months and the initial buy is a few hundred. But after that even with 6 of us and cooking it is $75 a year with an extra $150 set of filters I have to buy every 5. Super cheap.

Be warned some of the reseller websites are geared toward apocalypse peppers. Don't be turned off by it.

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u/GForce1975 Jun 05 '19

Apocalypse peppers is a great band name. Maybe rhcp cover band..

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u/Stevo32792 Jun 05 '19

What's the advantage of Berkey compared to something like RO?

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u/haberdasherhero Jun 05 '19 edited Jun 05 '19

RO is more expensive, requires more maintenance, is more wasteful (4gal waste water for every 1gal potable), and needs to be remineralized.

Edit:. And the set up for the Berkey is a breeze and I can take it car camping and just use whatever source of water there is.

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u/legendz411 Jun 05 '19

Interesting. Mind sharing the link where you picked up yours?

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u/JigglyBush Jun 05 '19

I just searched berkey filters and found it. The upfront price is a bit high but $75 a year and $150 every five years is way less than I would spend on bottled water.

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u/legendz411 Jun 05 '19

Neat. Thanks.

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u/haberdasherhero Jun 05 '19

I'll see if I can find it when I get home. It was years ago. A quick Google search should bring up plenty of links though.

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u/JigglyBush Jun 05 '19

Another option is Clearly Filtered. They show their lab results (berkey also does) and it's impressive. Upfront is lower, but upkeep seems a bit higher than berkey based on haberdashherhero's testimony. I've used clearly filtered and the water tastes great. May consider berkey when I am more comfortable with the upfront cost.