I started this blog in January this year and am evolving as I go along. I purchased a Brita water pitcher (Brita Products Company is owned by the Clorox Company) about three months ago. Today we had to change the water filter, so I put the used one to the side to do some research on how to recycle it.

Here is what I found:

I went to this site, Take the Filter Back, and they state that Brita has the #1 market share of pour-through filter cartridges in the U.S. and Canada. It’s the #1 faucet-mount filter in Canada and the #2 faucet-mount filter in the U.S. (Per Clorox’s 2007 Annual Report.).  While the original European Brita GmbH company has created a take-back recycling program for its filter cartridges, Clorox has no such program in place for re-using or recycling Brita cartridges. There is currently no way to refill or recycle Brita filter cartridges in North America.

Brita filter cartridges consist of activated carbon housed inside a plastic body which cannot be opened by the consumer for refilling or recycling. The plastic body must be landfilled or incinerated each time the filter is changed. Plastic is a non-renewable resource made from petroleum. It is not biodegradable, lingering in the environment virtually forever. The more we reuse/recycle the plastic products we produce rather than manufacturing new ones, the less damage we inflict on the earth.

In its FilterForGood campaign, Clorox promotes the use of its Brita filtration system, in combination with re-usable water bottles, as a means to reduce disposable plastic bottle waste. Please join in asking Clorox to go further and take responsibility for the millions of plastic filter cartridges that are also landfilled or incinerated each year.

You can sign this petition urging Clorox to be responsible and recycle their filters. You can also write a letter to the Clorox company. In addition to the petition and letter-writing, they are going to make a strong visual statement. Inspired by Jim McKenna’s and John Lieberman’s successful campaign to urge AOL to quit sending out unsolicited CDs, they’re collecting used Brita filters, both pitcher and tap, to deliver to Clorox en masse at some point in the future. There is even a Yahoo! Group to meet others in your area and arrange filter collection/pick up/drop off. I am going to write something cute on mine and send them off. :]

The worst part is I just found out that Clorox bought Burt’s Bees… :[

-Cara