The problem is that single-use plastic water bottles are a major driver of environmental degradation.  In Canada alone, citizens throw away over 1 million tons of plastic waste annually. The prevailing social myth that recycling solves this issue,  is false, as  Canada's plastic recycling rate is 6.2%.  The remaining 93.8% of plastic waste ends up clogging local landfills, littering parks and streets and breaking down into toxic microplastics that poison our waterways. On any given day or local school and neighborhood waste bins are overflowing with single-use plastic bottles.  These bottles take up to 450 years to decompose.  Their entire life cycle from petroleum extraction in Alberta to landfilling actively generates greenhouse gases and harms ecological health.  There is a critical lack of collective action,  to transition away from this convenience-based culture.