Readers have asked many times about the sustainability of home soda dispensers. More households are choosing soda machines to reduce plastic bottle use, and Consumer Reports found these systems more than pay for themselves in savings after about two years. But are the CO2 gas and canisters sustainable?
As we all know, CO2 is the gas warming the atmosphere — there is 50% more of it than before the Industrial Revolution, which has heated the planet by 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NASA.
The CO2 used in these canisters is often derived from industrial sources, such as the by-products of ammonia or natural gas production. This means that while the CO2 is not directly released into the atmosphere, it is still a by-product of fossil fuel consumption. We borrow the CO2 for the bubbles in our soda, and the body expells it by breathing — it is not…