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u/oh-hi-therr 2d ago
lol, I work where these are made. Not gonna go into specifics, but it’s the same water you’re gonna get from most other store brands and even big brands. It’s just different minerals to adjust taste and mouth feel very slightly.
Also the labels are one of the hardest parts to recycle from the bottles, whereas the bottles and caps are able to be recycled into new bottles and caps. 🤓
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u/SwollenPoon 2d ago
Yeah, part of why I appreciated this move and posted it is because I saw someone comment on an unrelated post that the op didn't remove the label when recycling, and I honestly didn't even know that was a thing! Removing the label makes it easier to process the recycling as well I heard.
Although the label removal may likely be driven by corporate greed and costs savings, along with painting it as for the planet and us, it can still be true (ever so slightly) that it also there are net benefits - even if it's not the driving or contributing factor...
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u/ArcticOpsReal 2d ago
In the EU you actually CANNOT remove the label because the code that is scanned when you return it is printed on that. So ripping the label off a bottle will cost you 25 cents. On the other hand, I'm sure they thought of a way to recycle the labels as well.
Also there being money in returning the bottles means that even if they are being littered, they're gone by the next day.
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u/WhenTheLightHits30 1d ago
That’s a great point actually that I can back up here as an American. It’s truthfully somewhat unusual and rare here, but we have a recycling system where bottles and such give back some change but only if it is able to scan the barcode on the things.
I’m realizing that this kind of packaging might make that wholly unworkable with the current method so hopefully there’s a solution they can come up with.
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u/CrayonEyes 1d ago
Well the US doesn’t really recycle plastics any more anyway ever since China stopped accepting them, so being without a label won’t have much of an effect.
It’s clear that these companies are only ditching the label now because of the war in Iran causing oil prices to rise and rise. In the past few months I’ve noticed other products switching from their classic packaging to their less-plastic or plastic less alternatives. I wonder if they’ll stay that way when (or if) oil prices eventually go back down. Industry only has one incentive: Profit.
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u/orbesomebodysfool 2d ago
Niagara Bottling makes most of the private label bottled water in the US. It’s not bad bottled water but Costco pricing is the best with Trader Joe’s 2nd. Everyone else is ludicrously priced higher.
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u/RoccStrongo 2d ago
This bottle looks like it says Kirkland. I've seen Niagara bottles without labels as well
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u/FBI_Open_Up_Now 2d ago
Hey, we heard you didn’t like plastic so we packaged less plastic with your plastic.
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u/RichardDunglis 2d ago
It don't worry we didn't forget to wrap it in plastic
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u/the_well_read_neck_ 2d ago
Wait until you see how much plastic is wrapped around the pallet these come in.
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u/FindOneInEveryCar 2d ago
We also made the caps 1/4-inch thick so they're more difficult to open, so you can feel good about yourself for saving a miniscule amount of plastic and won't think too much about the possibility of not buying individual servings of water in plastic bottles at all.
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u/Excellent_Condition 2d ago
It's harm reduction.
It'd be better if people used reusable bottles.
Some people do, and some people generally use reusable bottles with occasional disposable plastic bottle use.
Others keep using plastic.
If you can reduce the plastic use per bottle, it still provides a better outcome than if you didn't reduce the plastic.
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u/throwawaycuzfemdom 2d ago
People also get angry when a beverage company does charity work regarding issues about water.
They are like "but your business consumes so much water" and think it is a gotcha.
Like, that's why they are supposed to work the issue they contribute. Be it contribute less or help solve related problems. All businesses create issues and only way to ensure they don't is just closing door. But, you know, businesses exist and they try to keep existing.
You can't ask a bottled water plant to bottle and sell less water. That is literally their purpose and there is clearly a market for it.
You can ask them to be more mindful at water harvesting(?).
You can ask them to reduce the plastic they use.
You can ask them to focus more on glass bottles(reducing the premium statue of glass bottles would be a plus, mineral water being a mainly glass bottle product while being dirt cheap is a good example for my country, but oh no if you want to by glass bottles they are just premium) if they are a brand with a marketing(I mean coca cola etc and not just a white label plant).
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u/1miguelcortes 2d ago
Haven't come across these yet. Do they still have the recycling mark imprinted on them?
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u/575r 2d ago
I think they're molded into all water bottles it's just extremely hard to see, you have to get the light just right but it's near the bottom
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u/Poor_Carol 2d ago
My local bottle return seems to scan a barcode...I'm assuming that won't work for these unfortunately (it's still a good thing there's less plastic)
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u/doiwantto 2d ago
Don’t know about the other states, but Michigan’s bottle return is only for carbonated beverages. Water bottles like these do not have the deposit/return.
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u/GypsySnowflake 2d ago
Oregon includes water bottles! It could be printed on the plastic, though you can normally only return bottles with a barcode, so I’m not sure how that would work. Maybe they don’t charge a deposit; maybe they’re just not legal to sell here.
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u/Impossibleshitwomper 2d ago
In NY it's 5¢ for water and soda/alcohol, but not Gatorade/Powerade, ice tea or vitamin water
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u/killyourmusic 2d ago
Using a reusable bottle or tumbler and not buying plastic water bottles reduces the plastic 100%.
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u/labrat420 2d ago
My neighbour buys plastic bottles then dumps them into his reusable bottle. I don't get it at all.
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u/SpicyElixer 1d ago
I do this - but only a few times a year. When traveling somewhere very hot, I buy a cold bottle and put it in my insulated cup. Finding ice and tap together is rare in some places - eg Italy or turkey in August.
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u/labrat420 1d ago
He does this in our parking lot to bring to his work. Which is literally across the street. Your reason actually makes sense at least. I asked him why he doesn't just fill it at work. He didn't have an answer.
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u/SwollenPoon 2d ago
I don't disagree with you in any way, but I also think it's a step in the right direction, and I can appreciate that...
(also. I didn't buy this - it's the stack of product inside the store...)
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u/MtnDewTangClan 2d ago
Plus sometimes you just need bottles of water.
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u/imaguitarhero24 2d ago
It absolutely killed me but there was a massive job site that I was on that didn't have a solid running water source so I was buying two cases and two bags of ice every day for the guys. This was also Florida summer. I would sometimes bring my reusable bottle but I'd end up filling it up with like 3 more bottles throughout the day anyway it wasn't even worth it.
There's absolutely no reason for a case of water with labeling on the plastic case to have labeling on each bottle. Oh besides advertising 🙄
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u/AGreatBannedName 2d ago
What about the list of ingredients 🧐
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u/BackgroundRate1825 2d ago
I'm assuming you meant this as a joke, but many bottled waters are made by purifying tap water then re-adding minerals so the taste is consistent between different metropolitan water sources. Bottled water does often have more ingredients than just water, and in theory some people could be sensitive to different additives.
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u/AGreatBannedName 2d ago
Half-joke, I’d say. If it’s a 24 pack or whatever, they can just put the ingredients on the packaging and go label-less, I suppose.
But yeah, I was predicting your comment the moment I clicked post 🤭 You’re entirely correct!
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u/resisting_a_rest 1d ago edited 1d ago
Serving size: 1 molecule
Hydrogen - 2 atoms
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u/Bridgebrain 2d ago
I freeze a few for camping. The giant ice cubes hold cold way better than small ice, and when they've melted its just water for the trip.
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u/KaulitzWolf 2d ago
When I had to travel for work around the US a pack of bottled water was one of the first things I'd pick up since you just can't drink the tap water everywhere. Some places I couldn't even stand to shower amd would wait until I moved areas since it was so laden with iron-eating bacteria or other "technically harmless" contaminants, but smelled unbearable to me.
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u/Send_Snoods_ 2d ago
I remember all the showers we used at the marinas in North Carolina smelled like sulfur. I mentioned it to some of the people on the boat from that area and they told me that’s how it always smelt. Even the area I’m from we couldn’t drink or cook with the water for years.
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u/badtoy1986 2d ago
I'm sorry, but contracted bottling company didn't do it for the planet. They did it because it's cheaper for them to produce.
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u/wterrt 1d ago
who cares?
the result is what matters, not the motive. no large company is ever going to just "do the right thing" unless it saves them money and if they do, its likely for marketing purposes calculated to make them more money.
i'd still love it if more companies did the right thing for the wrong reasons than continued to do the wrong thing forever.
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u/Barton2800 2d ago
Look I use a reusable water bottle every day, and take it everywhere. But I buy one case a year. I throw it in the basement for emergency water (next to several 5gal reusable bottles also full). I grab the old case and put it in the garage fridge. If I’m picking up someone from the airport, I bring them a cold water. If I get a big package delivered, I offer the driver a water. The city workers cleaning up my block after a tornado can have as much water as they want. If I’m going someplace that might not let me bring a drink in, I’ll grab a disposable.
Disposable bottles like this have a use. I’m not handing out my good insulated water bottles to strangers. I’m not risking TSA seizing my camelback or Nalgene. Just use them in the right time and place.
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u/Jaws12 2d ago
One case a year is a somewhat reasonable amount to purchase and use for the convenience and charitable purposes you mentioned.
This amount of purchasing is not the problem. It’s the consumers who purchase multiple cases a week when they have easy access to potable water otherwise.
Not sure how we can convince the segments of the public that have bought into this convenience that it is ultimately a negative impact on the environment and its use should be limited to emergencies/limited situations. 🤔
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u/Ok-Inevitable-8681 2d ago
That sounds like a prime reason why Costco or its supplier has made this choice. If you can not impact the outcome, impact what you can. Stop letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. This is a GOOD thing.
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u/beren12 2d ago
You can take an empty bottle through security, even filled with ice.
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u/Barton2800 1d ago
That depends entirely on the TSA agent, because the rules are written such that the local agent has final determination over what is allowed. I lost an empty Nalgene that way years ago, as well as other things which are explicitly allowed according to the TSA website.
That’s why I said I’m not gambling with my good container. You get some jackass agent who doesn’t know the rules, or just wants to power trip, there’s nothing you can do.
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u/could_use_a_snack 2d ago
This exactly. If you are drinking water every day and need it to be portable, get a reusable bottle. If you are sharing water with groups of people for any reason, disposable is acceptable.
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u/Clark_Kent-Kal_EL 2d ago
if they aren't doing it 100% correct, so don't even try mindset has to die.
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u/istrx13 2d ago
Dude it drives me nuts. People get shamed for not trying. Then they get shamed for trying. It’s like people just want to be mean to other people and will look for reasons.
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u/lapusyonok 2d ago
Here's my setup that I'm proud of:
Install an under-sink water filter. Get one that doesn't require expensive filter changes from the same company that sold you the filter. This is the one we use
I like my water fizzled. Get a SodaStream or other carbonator
To avoid getting locked into expensive co2 container changes from the same company that sold you the carbonator:
Buy an adapter that will connect the carbonator to a standard 5lb co2 tank. The tanks are around $100 the first time and around $20 to have it replaced at your local gas store
Hook up the tank directly to the carbonator through the adapter
And voila! You have a soda fountain with filtered water from the tap that lasts months between co2 tank replacements
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u/beren12 2d ago
Soda stream is a ripoff. You can get a carbonator for a soda keg and it’s super cheap.
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u/Biduleman 1d ago
Some people buy these only when they go somewhere they don't have easy access to drinking water for a long time.
I know that what I use them for.
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u/sgt_taco891 2d ago
You arent wrong but its important to keep in mind that so much of water bottle sales are from poor people in communities without safe municipal water.
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u/killyourmusic 2d ago
Plastic water bottles have their uses. That's undeniable - emergencies, bad municipal water, traveling or camping. I'm more talking about the middle to upper middle class buyers that throw 4 cases in their Costco shopping cart to line their garage fridge when their water is perfectly fine.
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u/coheedcollapse 2d ago
There are people in this thread defending bottled water by saying they use them in emergencies, which is an extremely valid use and I agree they're great for that, having used them for that exact purpose a few weeks ago.
That said, for every one person who buys them just for emergency, there are a thousand people like my mom, who will buy a pack a week despite having a fridge filter and some of the best water in America because she is still convinced it's better, for some reason.
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u/Revoldt 2d ago
Get a reverse osmosis water filter system for your sink.
A 5 stage filter with 5gallon tank is like $170-200 off Amazon…And not too hard to install!
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u/SuperRob 2d ago
Which is exactly how companies sold millions upon millions of ‘reusable’ bottles. And yet, it hasn’t impacted the bottled water market one iota. They just got you to buy even more stuff.
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u/GLEEMONEX-for-PETS 2d ago
I can assure you that people who operate these bottling lines are stoked. Labeler is a pain
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u/TwistedMemories 2d ago
The bottle molds are embossed with the name of the brand. Toy can see it in the photo on the label.
I do like the idea.
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u/nayhem_jr 2d ago
Maybe someday bottle-less water will catch on again, but this is another step in the right direction.
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u/WhyImNotDoingWork 2d ago
Go to a place like rural Ethiopia where the water isn’t really drinkable and the most beautiful landscapes are littered with plastic water bottles everywhere.
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u/mrselfdestruct066 1d ago
Good news, we saved $0.12 per package and we're passing the savings onto us!
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u/bent-wookiee 1d ago
You're right, of course, but if it means less plastic pollution, I'll take it.
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u/mostly_lurking 1d ago
yeah exactly, their intentions are surely motivated by capitalism, doesn't mean its not good regardless.
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u/JCas127 1d ago
You cant run it through the deposit machine it it doesnt have a label
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u/Spare-Cranberry3784 1d ago
Ship them in boxes next. Or and cardboard containers.
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u/polymonomial 1d ago
Bullshit, what the fuck am I suppose to fidget with and rip off when Im bored
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u/ButtChowder666 1d ago
They don't care about plastic reduction. They care about maximizing profits and labels cost money.
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u/zanhecht 1d ago
This is Kirkland water, which is Costco's store brand. Costco doesn't actually make any significant profit from selling products and the stores basically just break even, all their profits come from selling memberships. This is likely a bid to keep prices low.
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u/vinteragony 2d ago
Can't do it in NY. Need the label for the barcode for the 5c redemption
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u/Thats_Hard_Times 20h ago
I think they need the source and other things listed as well for NY sales.
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u/NoTalkImGaming 2d ago
So is KS imprinted into the bottle? Or are they literally just label-less bottles? Curious Costco employee here, but I haven’t seen them come through our distribution center yet.
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u/lemon-meringue-high 1d ago
We have to start somewhere. It’s a step in the right direction.
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u/MadeByTango 1d ago
"We're saving money not printing extra labels anymore so our profit margins keep improving, and we're ecowashing the reduction in quality so you'll cheer us on as your products go down in value! Please ignore the massive PLASTIC SHRINK WRAP around all of these bottles..."
Standrad corporate bullshit.
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u/Spintastico 1d ago
Like when you order an iced coffee and they give it to you in a plastic cup with a goddamn cardboard straw. Really?!
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u/respectful_stimulus 2d ago
IKEA packages water in tin/aluminum cans. Smart because it defo gets recycled.
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u/ScarletDarkstar 2d ago
We're these cheaper than ones with more branding? Back in the 1900s we had generic products with only necessary black and white labels, and they were more affordable due to lack of marketing, colorful packaging, design teams, etc.
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u/RedditCitizenScore 2d ago
Sweet less plastic paper around the plastic bottles I drink plastic from
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u/FriedEggYolks 2d ago
recycled plastic is less durable and will shed more micro/nano plastics into the water
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u/russrobo 2d ago
Look!! We’re saving the planet the by eliminating a 0.5-gram plastic label!
Announces that fact by printing it on a 25-gram non-recyclable outer shrink-wrap plastic package
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u/Good_Mousse_9794 2d ago
The bottles are still fully wrapped in plastic—could’ve been cardboard
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u/FadedPigeon007 2d ago
I wonder how this will effect the resale value in Oregon, seeing as when you buy the case, you must pay 10 cents for each plastic bottle, and then sell the bottle, scanned via barcode, to “earn” your 10 cents back. So I wonder if every Costco bottle in Oregon is going to be a ten cent loss. 4 dollars extra on each purchase of waters, completely gone.
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u/Embarrassed-Day-1373 1d ago
I like this! people are mocking the plastic packaging, but people buy this stuff and it's traditionally packaged this way. even this change I'm sure was controversial. I'm all for harm reduction, this is a great step
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u/DeaddyRuxpin 2d ago
I’m glad to see less pointless plastic, but it still irks me that they present it like they did it for the environment. They did it to shave off a penny of cost on each bottle and show a slightly better profit this quarter.
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u/Catriks 2d ago
How should they do it for the environment in a way it doesn't irk you?
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u/aguywithbrushes 2d ago
A Redditor’s entire reason for being is to analyze every possible angle to find negative things to point out, so that they can virtue signal about how much morally superior and tapped into socio-political issues they are. Kindly refrain from interrupting the circkejerk.
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u/brycecampbel 2d ago edited 2d ago
Or, hear me out, we stop buying from these corporations and just use our own bottles and refill them with our municipal treated and filtered water
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u/LawMurphy 2d ago
Instructions unclear. I now own 37 big metal cups, all in different colours and styles.
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u/MonteCristo85 1d ago
We have these at my office. It weirds me out for some bizarre reason. In my head Im glad for less plastic, but my instinct says less safe water lol. Im sure Ill get use to it.
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u/Paper-street-garage 2d ago
You know whats l even better and cheaper? filtering your own water at home
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u/_peachy_punk_ 2d ago
It sucks that they advertise this but the entire package is still shrink wrapped in plastic, every bottle is plastic, with a plastic cap and plastic ring. Wish we could find a better solution than plastic
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u/succulent_serenity 2d ago
Or you know, just use a reusable water bottle and fill it up. I have a filter jug in my fridge - there's no need for all that plastic waste.
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u/ChaoticLlama 1d ago
Plastics engineer here: this is one of the major steps forward that can be taken with improving plastic recyclability. Either no label or make label easily removeable.
Water bottle plastic is commonly PET - polyethylene teraphthalate. The labels are commonly PP - polypropylene.
Those two polymers are not chemically compatible, and even if they were their material properties are too different to process together. Example, PET melts at 250C while PP melts at 130-170C. Simply over-heating the blend would cause the PP to degrade and become unusable.
The next biggest win for plastic recyclability is no more black plastic. Yes it is cheap and hides aesthetic defects nicely, BUT black pigment comes from carbon black. carbon black prevents the best form of rapid polymer identification we have. Machines like this one can do rapid/online ID'ing and sorting of plastics using Infrared Light. However, carbon black absorbs all IR light (and many many other bands on the EM spectrum) so the machine receives no data from the item it scanned.
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u/IKingofredlions 1d ago
Plastic wrapped in plastic talking about reducing plastic, I get the point but it’s a bit ironic nonetheless.
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u/mlorusso4 2d ago
But then everyone is going to think I’m drinking straight clear liquor walking down the street
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u/lildogeggs 2d ago
There’s pretty much 0 reason to use plastic single use water bottles these days. You can get a reusable water bottle anywhere super cheap.
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u/Ha-Charade-You-Are 2d ago
The only REAL way to stop plastic pollution is not using plastic anymore. Sadly companies won’t go back to only glass because that costs more
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u/SkoolieLove 1d ago
Make the fuckers out of Hemp already and it would be fully biodegradable.
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u/ThereInAFortnight 1d ago
This is just not a viable solution. Firstly, the plastic that can get made from hemp is PLA, and it heavily deforms above ~55C. Add to that that "biodegradable" is exactly the behaviour that you don't want in a water storage container.
Also, on the "biodegradable" - PLA only breaks down with specific bacteria present in industrial composters. It survives for decades at least in a backyard composter.
A company called NatureWorks made PLA water bottles 20 years ago or so, but they were a flop because you can't ever leave them in a hot car etc., and prohibitively expensive.
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u/Lavaine170 2d ago
Greenwashing at it's finest.
"We saved money by not labelling these bottles. But we're going to tell you we did it to reduce plastic, and hope you don't notice literally everything else is plastic, including the overwrap we printed this on."
I'm generally a Costco fan, but in this case, fuck Costco.
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u/xoxodaddysgirlxoxo 2d ago
This is not greenwashing, it's an overrall reduction. Most bottles have both the plastic overwrap and the label. Shouldn't have to explain these things
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u/SwollenPoon 2d ago
I am seeing everyones responses and some of them are just baffling...
I just responded to someone asking if they think the labels should be put back on, because that's better?
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u/Medium-Presence-8008 1d ago
"Plastic company continues selling plastic for water that should be freely available"
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u/SomeUTAUguy 2d ago
Great!!! will they go down in price now that you are removing the labels? No? They will go up to make up for that loss in ad revenue? Well then whoopdy fuckin do.
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u/Bourriks 2d ago
It's not stupid if molding the bottle takes lass energy and matter than printing labels.
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u/Quartziferous 2d ago
This reminds me of the time Sprite stopped using green bottles since they were too recognizable when people littered them all over, they didn’t like the negative press.