Today much has been done by environmental groups to raise the level of awareness in how we acquire, use and dispose of many of the earth’s natural resources.  

Glass is manufactured from quartz sand which is a naturally occurring mineral. Aluminium is contained in compounds found within the earth’s crust. After industrial processing common glass and aluminium metal respectively is the result. These products are used extensively for packaging beverages in the drinks industry.

And the drinks industry is huge making everything from soft to alcoholic drinks which may be still or sparkling.

Enter Guy Gilbey an English entrepreneur (with the London Gin company), who set up Sodastream in 1903. For those of you who may be unaware of what Sodastream stand for, they are the leading worldwide brand in home made fizzy drinks. Their drinks system works by using a carbonator machine to force carbon dioxide from a canister through water obtained from the tap. Together with a small measure of flavoured concentrate, the result is your pop, it’s as simple as that.  Perfect for enjoying a zero waste lifestyle!

Sodastream enjoyed popularity in the 70s and early 80s when they encouraged us to ‘get busy with the fizzy’ and have fun making home made pop. Today with so much being done to reduce over production and wastage, investing in a carbonator is no longer a matter of fun and creativity but of good eco sense. Sodastream are now back in the headlines with a revamped and extensive model range. 

To commemorate their ‘World Without Bottles’ campaign they’ve recently launched their limited edition green and white Genesis carbonator. The Genesis comprises 85% or more recyclable materials and like other models in the range it is simple to use and aesthetically pleasing. Moreover for every purchase of the Genesis carbonator Sodastream will contribute $1 towards the One to One Project in Kenya. One to One is one of the many projects funded by the *Water Project and aims to supply one person with clean drinking water for a whole year. This will be achieve through a system of building new wells.  

The Harsh Facts

A single aluminium can takes 450 years to decompose and a single bottle requires five times its volume in water for manufacture. In the UK alone more than 13 billion plastic bottle are used. Worldwide a total of 340,000,000, 000, 000 bottles and cans remain unrecycled every year. Frightening statistics.   

British model Erin O’Connor is working with Sodastream to spread the message about limiting bottle waste. She is known for her green credentials and insists on educating consumers to ‘precycle’ i.e. prevent the need for recycling by avoiding bottle use in the first place. 

She is quoted as saying “We take plastic bottles for granted in our everyday lives but it’s easy to forget that plastic bottle overuse and wastage can clog up our landfill sites, seep toxic chemicals into the ground and take thousands of years to decompose” 

When investing in a Sodastream carbonator it’s good to know that one fizz-injecting canister makes 60 litres or 180 cans of pop which is quite a feat. A single plastic bottle which comes with the carbonator is reusable and fully recyclable after a life span of three years, saving an estimated 2000 bottles and cans. Looking at the prices of drinks in the supermarkets there is also a monetary saving to be had.  

Sodastream’s concentrates are available in many popular flavours including sugar free, energy type and tea flavours. The standard 500ml bottles makes 12 litres of your favourite drink.  

In summary Sodastream’s ethos sends the right eco message to environmentally aware consumers and there’s not been a better time to invest in their products.   

Carbonators retail at selected homeware outlets for around £50 up to £140.

For more information go here www.sodastream.co.uk.

The site includes a comprehensive FAQ section on operation and maintenance of your carbonator.

So what are you waiting for? – Get busy with the fizzy!