Sodastream - yea or nay?

[Proto]

Being lightweight near teetotallers, my wife and I have taken to drinking carbonated water, and usually, for no particular reason, San Pellegrino.

It's not expensive but the thought of clogging up the planet with even more plastic bottles suggests we ought to stop, just drink tap water, or buy a Sodastream.

My parents had a Sodastream ("get busy with the fizzy") over 40 years ago, used to make 'cola' and 'tonic water' but results were not great so it fell into disuse, and I understand the Sodastream company itself fell into disuse not long after. The company bumbled along as part of Cadbury Schweppes before being revitalised by an Israeli company, and production subsequently moved to Israel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SodaStream

So, about £70.00 for a machine and a further £15 for gas cartridge refills. I read somewhere that on purely financial terms, you're better off buying bottled sparkling water from Tesco, but that might not be the point. We'd save half a dozen plastic bottles a week. However, a fair amount of energy goes into making the Sodastem kit itself, plus the cartridges, so from an energy/envionment point of view, maybe on balance, the bottles, if recycled, are not so evil?

Thoughts, please!

PS there are alternatives to Sodastream. Economics are not much different, but if we buy one, I'd like to find a way of refilling the gas cartridge myself for pennies!

 

[Eric Olthwaite]

Just half fill a bottle with tap water, give it a good shake, and drink it really quickly before the bubbles disappear.

 

[Oldhippy]

Definitely nay.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Why don't you recycle your plastic bottles?

 

[fossyant]

Why not. Go for it

 

[newfhouse]

No, for all the reasons contained in the original post.

Just keep a refillable glass bottle of tap water in your fridge.

 

[Debade]

I had a Soda Stream years ago. It was OK and better than buying bottles. Since becoming a home brewer, I have a 10 pound CO2 canister and a carbonation cap. A little less convenient for making soda water but much cheaper and easy enough. For home brew,, i use it to carbonate the next keg in line.

 

[Proto]

Why don't you recycle your plastic bottles?

We do, send them off in the recycling box weekly, but the energy to make them, energy to recycle them, all wasteful.

 

[winjim]

We've got one, for the same reasons of reducing plastic waste. Wife's also off the booze while pregnant and breastfeeding. We use it mainly just for fizzy water and squash, without the fancy syrups.

I believe there may be ethical considerations around the siting of their factories and the makeup of their workforce but I only became aware of that since we bought the thing. I know Scarlet Johansonn got some stick for endorsing them.

 

[Proto]

We've got one, for the same reasons of reducing plastic waste. Wife's also off the booze while pregnant and breastfeeding. We use it mainly just for fizzy water and squash, without the fancy syrups.

I believe there may be ethical considerations around the siting of their factories and the makeup of their workforce but I only became aware of that since we bought the thing. I know Scarlet Johansonn got some stick for endorsing them.

Yes, quite a bit about it on Wiki. Doesnt make you want to buy one. Quite the opposite.

 

[gbb]

Had one years ago when we had kids so it seemed a good idea. It wasnt in our case, too damn expensive for the concentrates plus filling bottles. It didn't even taste that good, not bad, but not outstanding for the cost.
Pop is so cheap now and I work on the principle the bottles get recycled anyway plus who knows which system is environmentally better ? It's not a given the sodastream system is better for the environment, unless it's been proven.

 

[Fergs]

I’m told you can use it on white wine and get decent results. Methode industrielle, if you will

 

[Eric Olthwaite]

I imagine that fizzy drinks made with a Sodastream at home taste similar to those dispensed from a drinks hose at a pub, since they both use carbonated water + syrup.

On that basis, I can confidently predict that a Sodastream-based approach will be better for the environment - mainly because the resulting beverage is so revolting that environmentally-friendly tap water will be preferred every time.

 

[Chris S]

I believe there may be ethical considerations around the siting of their factories and the makeup of their workforce but I only became aware of that since we bought the thing. I know Scarlet Johansonn got some stick for endorsing them.

The factory on the West Bank was closed down and 500 Palestinians lost their jobs.

 

[PaulSB]

@Proto one of my sons gave my wife a Soda Stream for her birthday. Mrs P wanted one purely because she was unhappy about the amount of plastic waste she was creating by buying water.

It works very well for providing sparkling water. I know nothing about syrups etc.

Personally I'm very happy with plain tap water.