eco this!

I was lying bed last night finishing up some reading before going to sleep and I reached over and grabbed my bottle of water to take a swig. It was then when I noticed the words “Eco-Shape” on the side of it. Arrowhead claimed my water bottle to use 30% less plastic than other bottles of that volume. I found that to be a little striking. I do not know if you have ever seen the eco-shape bottle before but it is filled with ridges and waves and dimples in the molding. So how do they say that this is an “eco-shape”? Most people know that the shortest distance (in this case least material) is accomplished in a straight line. So what’s with all the contours and the dimples in the bottle?

That is what started this blog but then upon further investigation I found an even more interesting fact. The “eco-shape” bottle is taller and skinnier than its predecessor. That brought to mind an old algebra problem I had once about a farmer and his fence, you may remember it. A farmer wants to corral his animals in a given area with 4 sides but wants to do it with the least amount of money, so with what dimensions will the fence be cheapest? The fence will be cheapest with four equal length sides. A square. It turns out that you will always use the least amount of material with a square as opposed to any rectangular configuration. The same holds true with 3-Dimensional objects. You can contain the same volume in a short stubby container with less surface area than you would in a tall skinny container. So this Arrowhead “eco-shape” container isn’t really doing anything for me. I will give it its thinner plastic but everything else about the bottle doesn’t really cry out eco friendly.