Comments on: A better Brita, thanks to Beth

By: K Krishna

K Krishna — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:45:43 +0000

Hello – how easy is it for Brita to make it so that the top screws off (the Brita Filter) so that you can put the mineral contents in the back garden? Then you can recycle the plastic as normal. Regards.

By: Clorox and Preserve Partnership: Recycling Brita Filters | Green Talk

Clorox and Preserve Partnership: Recycling Brita Filters | Green Talk — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:37:45 +0000

[...] did Clorox cave? Beth stated in her interview with Vanessa Farquharson of Green as a Thistle, and a journalist for the National Post, [...]

By: julena

julena — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:06:24 +0000

Beth is fantastic. She made me realize things about plastic I never stopped to think about before. And she is an inspiration to all aspiring activists that things can be changed if we really decide it’s time.

By: What’s Going On

What’s Going On — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:57:38 +0000

[...] as a Thistle celebrates Fake Plastic Fish. Reddit Stumble Upon del.icio.us [...]

By: Ariel

Ariel — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:23:20 +0000

Thanks for nothing – your actions have actually harmed the environment, not helped it.

You want people to MAIL you a filter to recycle it? Seriously? And this is helping the environment? The environmental cost of mailing something is far greater than the cost of making new plastic.

Even if you walked the filter over to the plant, the environment cost of just recycling it is more than the cost of making new plastic.

Just put the filter in the garbage. There is plenty of room (don’t believe the nonsense about running out of space, it’s not true).

We are running out of water, and guess what is used when you recycle something? Tons of water. We are not running out of oil (despite the hype), and guess what plastic is made of?

And for those those who want a refillable filter:

They make those already, and they are much cheaper, last longer, and work better than faucet filters.

They are called ordinary under the sink filters. The shell is kept, and you just change the carbon block inside them. The carbon block sometimes has a net around the carbon, but otherwise the only plastic is the end caps.

(Buy only carbon block, not granular carbon. Besides the block working way better, there is no shell like there is with granular.)

If you want to help the environment there are plenty of ways to do so, but recycling is not one of those ways. On the other hand it is the easiest way, and I guess it makes you feel good.

By: Beth Terry’s Lessons in Activism | Eco Friendly Mag

Beth Terry’s Lessons in Activism | Eco Friendly Mag — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:37:43 +0000

[...] to convince Brita in North America to take back and recycle their filters; Vanessa Farquharson of Green as a Thistle and the National Post interviews her and learns how it happened. It is an excellent guide for [...]

By: yosh hash

yosh hash — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:45:09 +0000

Wow, very inspirational stuff! In case anyone else is planning a similar sort of “take back” campaign, I would like to suggest that the timing is ripe for this sort of thing: well established online communities like freecycle and full circle make it quite easy to amass thousands or millions of anything.

By: Beth Terry’s Lessons in Activism

Beth Terry’s Lessons in Activism — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:41:58 +0000

By: J.J. Buckfart

J.J. Buckfart — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:14:38 +0000

Great story. I just started following your blog… since I first heard about it in Friedman’s, “Hot, Flat and Crowded.” Good stuff.

By: Beth, aka Fake Plastic Fish

Beth, aka Fake Plastic Fish — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:33:58 +0000

Oh, and Toby — Brita says that they are actually researching ways to redesign the filter to be refilled. There are many complicated factors involved, including regulations set by water filter certification boards. So this current plan is really the best way to get recycling going in the mean time.

They are also researching, with Preserve, how to recycle the faucet filters.