Americans all around the world buy bottle water by the case loads, and often they refill the bottle time after time in an attempt to be economical and environmentally friendly, without thinking about the price of their health.

In the summer issue of USAA magazine there was an article that talked about a recent study done by a public school in Alberta, Canada. The school revealed the amount of bacteria would require a bottle water advisory, if they refilled the bottle with tap water. The type of washing, the bottles would require, to make them safe might be harmful in another way, according to a University of Idaho study. Single use water and soft-drink bottles are not designed to be washed and reused, the study states, because the bottles are made from a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate which, although safe for single use, breaks down with repeated use. One of the toxins often found in the water samples from the reused bottles was DEHA, a potentially cancer causing material.

The students believe the best bet is to use single -use bottles only once, then toss them in a recycle bin or buy a bottle made for repeated use.