2007 Archives: Soda Club: Green, DIY Bubbly Water
By now, we EcoStilettoistas are toting our reusable water bottles pretty much everywhere we go—and feeling damn smug about it. But what about that pesky afternoon Diet Coke addiction? Sad to say, our bins still get full after a day or two, what with the copious amounts of bubbly water, sodas, wine and beer we seem to put away in a 48 hour period. And although they do end up recycled, a helluva lot of oil goes into making those bottles, and aluminum is just a bad scene all around, requiring fossil-fueled strip mining of bauxite ore that pollutes soil and water and releases greenhouse gases, which contribute to the un-sweater weather we’re getting this fall.
In fact, although eco-consumerism has pointed the finger at the bottles containing the 8.2 billion gallons of water Americans consumed in 2006 (that’s 10 percent more than the previous year, and triple the volume of a decade ago), the problem is more pervasive than mere H2O. That same year, according to the Container Recycling Institute, we guzzled the contents of more than 200 billion bottles and cans—50 billion more than in 2005, and more than double what we consumed 30 years ago. At the same time, recycling rates have plummeted from 48 percent in 1970 to just 33 percent in the last decade.
So what’s a girl to do? Look beyond the Sigg to alternative ways of getting your liquid fix. We love the Soda-Club home carbonation machine, which uses water from the kitchen sink (Or Brita, if you live in a city where the water from the kitchen sink is unpalatable. Read: Los Angeles.) Fill the reusable Soda-Club bottle with water, screw it into the machine, press the button, and you’ve got seltzer in 30 seconds. A hermetically-sealed bottle cap keeps the drink fizzy longer than the retail variety, and best of all, you can choose your fizz level: One press gives you light bubbles (we like to call this the Orangina effect), two presses give you something more along the lines of a traditional soda. And three? It’s all about the Perrier Jouet, baby.
For water lovers, this is all you need to know. But for those of us who like a little flava with our watah, Soda-Club also offers regular, diet or caffeine-free syrups—from Cola and Cream Soda to Pink Grapefruit and Raspberry—that make us feel a little like we’re in a 1950s diner (or about to be discovered in a 1950s diner, hence the red lipstick we’ve been sporting lately).
And here’s the kicker: According to the oracle of Soda-Club, if this handy-dandy machine was used to make just half the soda or seltzer the average American consumer imbibes, a family of four could reduce their waste by more than 1,000 bottles a year. The carbon dioxide tank can brew up to 110 liters of seltzer or soda—enough to last three or four months for said family of four—and it requires no batteries or electricity. And did we mention how cute it looks sitting on your counter?
Now if they only sold that syrup in beer.
love the idea of soda-club and sounds as if it can be amazing healthy too if the user gets a little inventive with juices etc.. to create stuff like orangina..
but one point u missed out on.. the water levels in the world are going down down down.. and its becuase of general waste of these drinks…think about how many drinks are really wasted - meaning u drink 1/4 of the cup and throw it away etc… everyone needs to really consider that wastage also.. and if people tracked it they would realise they are wasting their own money also!!! maybe putting more examples of dollars and cents in this economic situation will help people to become more environmental and start recylcing too!
thanks for ur great site!
If you enter the Soda Club Promotion Code of “Trinidad” you can get a 10% discount and my daughters’ school gets a 10% bonus!