Water Bottle & Drink Bottles Comparison Shopping Guide Australia

For the life of me, I simply CANNOT fathom why BRITA don’t advertise the BPA status of their water jugs, water filters and water bottles all over their packaging and their website.

I have been using Brita on and off for years now, both with the jugs and the filters you screw on to your tap. I have looked pretty hard for the information and had trouble finding it without putting on my detective hat. I finally gave in and just wrote to them.

I always had concerns that the clear hard plastic in Brita Jugs was actually polycarbonate. I can confirm that it’s NOT. It’s SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile). SAN is BPA Free. Some lids and the cartridges are made form Polypropylene – again, BPA Free.

You can find the information on the FAQ section of the Brita site. I have also copied the reply I received from Brita below (this is not edited).

Thank you for your enquiry.

We are pleased to advise that all materials used in the manufacture of BRITA products are certified as highest food grade quality. The plastics used are tested and certified that no leaching of chemicals will occur. So you can use your BRITA system with confidence.

All BRITA jugs (pot and funnel), are made of SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile, a transparent, rigid styrenic plastic offering high chemical resistance,) and some lids and the cartridge are made of PP. Neither materials release any Bisphenol A, all are BPA free.

All BRITA materials are certified food grade quality and meet the corresponding positive lists for plastics in food/water contact. Tests include migration tests according to applicable legislation. For BRITA jugs and cartridges we can confirm that there can be no Bisphenol A release.

Your BRITA jug can be put out for recycling if your council has plastic recycling. However, it is not graded for recycling at this stage. We feel that by owning a BRITA, the amount of bottled water that we prevent from being dumped (150 litre bottles for every BRITA cartridge) is a significant eco benefit.

You can find further information about BRITA products on our website www.brita.com.au

whereyou will also find the reference to BPA under FAQ – Jug & Casks.

I trust this information has been of assistance to you. Please feel free to contact me should you have any further enquiry.

BRITA are available to purchase at most K-Mart stores, supermarkets such as Coles, and also places like Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, Bing Lee, Officeworks and many other places. Visit the stockists page on BRITA to find your nearest location.

More and more water bottles these days are bpa free. They can range in price from $3 up to $30 and more. Today we give you quick tips on the different types of plastic and what their advantages and disadvantages are.

#4 – LDPE – Low Density Polyethylene is the most common plastic that squeezable budget water bottles are made from. LDPE is BPA Free and is durable and not easily damaged or broken during use. It’s cheap to make bottles from LDPE and some are even made in Australia. The trouble with LDPE is that you can taste the plastic in the water. Even worse, mix cordial or a sports drink in LDPE and you’ll always taste it in whatever comes next. LDPE bottles are very common for cyclists and sports people as they’re cheap and disposable and by squeezing the bottle you get a rush of water when you need it the most.

#2 – HDPE – High Density Polyethylene is another common budget plastic. Also BPA Free, it’s commonly used for water bottles, milk cartons and more. In our own fridge, the Dairy Farmers milk is in HDPE. We have seen HDPE produce squeezable and solid water bottles like the Polar Half Twist. Again, like LDPE, HDPE can leave a plastic taste in your water and leave behind odours from cordials, juices and sports drinks. It’s impact resistant, lightweight and durable.

#5 Polypropylene is used mainly for plastic food containers. It’s a cloudy plastic favoured by the majority of food container manufacturers including Decor, Sistema (the poor cousin to Lock and Lock) and the majority of high quality and cheap generic knock off containers sold in Australia. It is also used for water bottles with some manufacturers including a small sample of the Contigo and Lock & Lock range. Polypropylene plastic can stain and also retain odours, however, in our own experience, not quite as much as the HDPE or LDPE. There is a better choice than polypropylene. Keep reading ……..

#7 – Polycarbonate  is the danger plastic.  #7 doesn’t always been polycarbonate, but it can do, so you always need to check. Polycarbonate is a solid clear plastic that behaves a little like glass. Polycarbonate contains BPA or Bisphenol-A and should be avoided for food and water storage. It was most commonly used in baby bottles until research in to the dangers of BPA were made public. Now it’s rarely used and virtually every baby bottle manufacturer as stopped using it. Australian retailers have voluntarily stopped selling baby bottles with BPA in them. The demise of polycarbonate made way for ‘the winner’ in our plastic water bottles material choice – Tritan Eastman.

Tritan Eastman is made by the Eastman Chemical Company. It behaves like polycarbonate used to. It’s clear and hard and behaves like glass when it comes to not absorbing or leaching flavours. It’s tough (but not unbreakable) and is used by leading water bottle manufacturers including Camelbak, Thermos, Lock n Lock (in their drink bottles and also their premium food containers), Nathan Sports, Nalgene, Contigo, Enviro Products and dozens more. This is our top choice for a plastic water bottle as it doesn’t leach flavours and most quality brand bottles are thick and durable.

For those of you who are interested in plastics and food, Choice have done a thorough job of reviewing a wide variety of choices. Read more.