Is Kohl’s new Sodastream really that environmentally friendly”?
By Susan Wilson
Kohl’s is now carrying the do-it-yourself fountain drink machines made by Sodastream. They are calling it “precycling” claiming that by not buying bottled, or canned soft drinks you are saving the environment as much as by recycling.
“Precycling” means you are cutting out waste on the front end. By using Sodastream products you can make your own soft drinks, energy drinks and carbonated water at home. By making your own soft drinks supposedly you reduce your carbon footprint on both ends of the drink chain.
Considering that the machines themselves are made out of plastic and metal you are still buying products with a carbon footprint. The drink machines will eventually be tossed at the end of their life cycle like every other old coffee pot, Ginsu knife and Ronco gadget of the week.
The Container Recycling Institute has research that shows that in 2006, 215 billion beverages in glass, plastic and aluminum containers were purchased. Of those 215 beverages, only 66 percent of the containers were recycled. Although Sodastream says that creating your own energy drinks and soft drinks will cut down on such, that supposes several things.
The company has six different beverage machines all of which will eventually break down, become obsolete or not used. Sixty different syrups including cola, diet cola, and ginger ale are available. Just as Pepsi, Coca Cola and Diet Rite all produce colas, they aren’t the same. The syrups produced for Sodastream will not include any secret formulas and will probably require some experimentation to get the right taste. The syrup containers will be tossed in the garbage when empty probably heading for a landfill. Besides, will your kids really want to take with them and drink these “generic” homemade drinks?
“Carbonators” (CO2 canisters) come with the system and depending on the size, will carbonate 60 to 130 liters of drink. Although the empty CO2 containers are exchanged for full ones supposedly paying only for the charge of a refill there is still some carbon footprint created in the transportation and exchange of the bottles. Eventually, these will be tossed out as the canisters become bent, broken or otherwise unusable.
There are also an assortment of different drink bottles and carafes that work with the Sodastream system. All of the bottles are “dishwasher-PEN bottles” with a three-year lifespan. This doesn’t include replacement bottles for those that will inevitably be lost or broken in unforeseen ways. These too will eventually wind up in landfills.
Although the syrups will produce 12 liters per bottle of carbonated or uncarbonated soft drinks, someone has to make and bottle the drinks that you and your family will be drinking. Use your own tap water, you add syrup, carbonate to taste and then bottle it.
How simple will this process really be? Everyone will have their own preferences and mixtures will need to be just right. Bottling multiple drinks per day for your family will be time consuming. Each person could make their own but then you would need to take turns and who cleans up in the end?
Also, how many bottles will you need to buy and store in order to truly cut out bought beverages? After the initial thrill of playing with your new machine, will it wind up on a shelf, in the garage, or stuck in a closet like all of those other fun sounding kitchen gadgets that were going to save you money but required more time and mess than you really wanted to put up with?
As with so many “green” products or behaviors that are popping up these days, the reality may not be as wonderful as advertised. Bread makers are great for people who really want to make their own bread but they do take time and create a mess. The same goes for cappuccino machines and other kitchen gadgets that have cropped up in homes as birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and wedding gifts.
The initial thrill and novelty wears off. Eventually, your enthusiasm wanes and you prefer the convenience of picking up what you want at the store rather than making a mess at home that needs to be cleaned up. It’s that cleaning up the mess part that tends to get on people’s nerves.
Kohl’s is now selling Sodastream’s drink machines. Do you really want to spend over $90 for something that may wind up being nothing more than a home science project?
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April 20th, 2009
Do you work for FOX entertainment “news”? Like them, you just raise specious questions about a proposal you apparently distrust, without providing any indication that you’ve actually investigated the issue. I realize I live in an eccentric city (Cambridge, MA), but even in the surrounding areas, sodas are disdained while kids often turn to seltzer in its place. Meanwhile, “green” is cool, and kids are demanding recycling.
This product is not going to convert someone interested in the product for novelty, but what about committed environmentalists who already carry empty bottles home for reuse? I had hoped to find out the breakeven point both environmentally and economically, and read the article without gaining any new insight into the questions I already had.
Of course every product will break, but the more important consideration is if it will generate an overall benefit during its useful lifespan. I don’t understand the point of your article.
April 21st, 2009
I share the same thoughts as Mike and would like to add a little more information I’ve gathered, as well as my personal situation.
The carbonating bottles are exchanged much like LPG tanks. I’ve seen a few adapters on ebay allowing users to refill their own bottles at paintball suppliers for a fraction of the cost. I’m a little concerned that the quality of CO2 from a paintball supply store might not meet the quality for human food consumption, but I thought I’d just throw that out there.
My wife and I love to drink sparkling mineral water. Though it’s costly ($1-$4 per liter) and we’re left with a bunch of empty glass bottles, we can’t discovered an alternative until now. I’m going to give sodastream a chance, especially with the $20 rebate I received in Sunday’s newspaper.
May 4th, 2009
I bought a sodastream a few weeks ago. I LOVE it! I love carbonated drinks and went through 2 liter bottles of diet soda like crazy. I found out I could drink just carbonated water with or without a little lemon juice, so I was hoping I could replace my diet pepsi habit with the sodastream water and lemon juice. So far its working great! Im drinking A LOT more water, getting less artificial sweetener from the diet sodas, making a LOT less trips to the store, throwing away a LOT less soda bottles, and transporting a LOT less soda bottles into the house. Just wish I could find that $20 rebate!
May 5th, 2009
My family has been using a Soda Stream for two months, and we LOVE it too. My husband drinks sparkling water and I am so glad that I am not carrying all those bottles back and forth from the supermarket anymore.
None of us drink soda, so I can’t address your concerns with taste. I’m pretty happy with just water, but if you have someone in your family who ‘needs’ sparkling water, this is a very green solution. The frame that holds the CO2 canisters is very light (so it’s ‘carbon footprint’ is modest) and while it will someday become trash, I suspect we have already saved that much plastic by the bottles we have reused at home rather than purchased at the store.
May 18th, 2009
I read this article thinking that it would actually give a conclusion as to whether this product decreases environmental waste and I completely agree with Mike’s comments. This article is cynical and utterly stupid at best. There is no point to the article except to complain. It was such a waste of my time to read it that I was compelled to leave a comment…my first ever on the internet. Time to hire a new writer. I just bought a Sodastream from Boater’s World for $10 on sale after $20 rebate.
September 7th, 2009
I have had endless – ENDLESS – problems receiving exchanges for sodastream cartridges. For example, I put in an order on July 17 that I did not receive until mid- August, more than 30 days later. Customer complaints went unanswered, then they refused to call my cell and would only call my home number. Now they have charged me twice for the one exchange and my credit card has been hit with currency exchange fees. These people are dangerous and should not be in business in the USA.
September 28th, 2009
I have never done this before, so here goes:
What a stupid and pointless article !
I grew up with a Sodastream, which we had for over 10 years. I bought one as soon as they became available here. I just love the statement “the convenience of picking up what you want at the store” (from the article). This truly sums up our apathetic society. Is this the type of attitude to have in this day and age?
Besides, I enjoy being able to make what I want, when I want it. Maybe it’s a control thing.
October 12th, 2009
I must admit to be very conflicted about the sodastream product. I have had a machine for about 5 months and love the machine and the sparkling water. And not having to carry bottled water home from the market and recycle the empties. BUT SODASTREAM USA IS HORRIBLE TO DEAL WITH. Though their website promises 5-7 day home delivery of the CO2 cartridges, this never happens. They charge your card at the time that you place your order but do not ship the order for weeks afterward. Their is always an excuse. “We were implementing a new computer system.” “All warehouses were closed for inventory last week.” And do not even ask them to give you a date by which you will receive the order that you paid for weeks ago.