September 7, 2022 by Beat of Hawaii 27 Comments

Jason Momoa is back in the news for cutting his hair to promote Mananalu Pure Water, headquartered in Boone, North Carolina. His Hawaii-themed water served in aluminum instead of plastic containers, is sourced from Bozeman, Montana, Montebello, California, and Norfolk, Nebraska. This is true for sustainability reasons, according to their website.

But there’s other controversy too, related to cost, recycling, safety, environmental impact, and more.

If you take up his challenge to reduce one plastic container for each Mananalu aluminum can you buy, it will cost you three times as much as plastic to do that. Your editors took the bite and bought a 12-pack of Mananalu for $27.99 on Amazon with free shipping at 15 cents an ounce. Alternatively, we could have purchased Poland Springs water in plastic for 4 cents an ounce and with no Hawaii name. The question is, would we do it again? Let us know what you think our answer is.

“Aquaman” star Momoa went to Instagram to show his locks being cut while promoting his aluminum water and speaking out on the elimination of single-use plastic of all sorts. This is his latest promotion after serving as a flight attendant on Hawaiian Airlines to promote their use of Mananalu on flights to and from the mainland.

A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)

Momoa’s bottled water company is Mananalu Water, which sells water in aluminum bottles. He said, “I’m tired of these plastic bottles, we’ve got to stop.”

“Here’s to new beginnings, let’s spread the aloha” is the caption of the Instagram post.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Which is better?

Recycling is widely considered the last and least effective of this hierarchy. Reusable bottling is more sustainable than recyclable.

According to the Mananalu website, “You may have heard myths about over-exposure to aluminum and whether it’s linked to things like Alzheimer’s or autism. But that is all they are… Myths based on decades-old studies that have since been debunked many times over. The truth is that it’s safe to drink from aluminum—very safe—according to science, data, and industry leaders alike. Of course, safety is a top concern when it comes to what you serve your family, so let us put your mind at ease.”

Others have written about potential but unsubstantiated links to Alzheimer’s. In addition, unlined aluminum reacts with the acid in beverages, so even adding a lemon wedge to your aluminum bottle might not be the best thing to do.

Then too, if the aluminum bottles to some degree also end up in the refuse, will we have just gone from one source of pollution to another? The UK non-profit Carbon Trust said, “The aluminum industry can play on the fact that its product is infinitely recyclable, and they’re right. But primary aluminum uses huge amounts of electricity, and it’s also got some chemical releases of greenhouse gas emissions.”

While it’s all complicated, Reuters also reported that “A 330 ml [aluminum] can is responsible for 1,300 grams of carbon dioxide emissions… A plastic bottle of the same size… accounts for up to 330 grams.

Coca-Cola chimed in saying “When we look at a different material, you look at all of the levers: the carbon footprint, consumer preference, energy, water. There’s a mix, there are some things that are not that desirable, but if you have five good things and one that isn’t, we’ll all have to make decisions.”

The water filter company Brita, is now selling multi-packs of aluminum-packed water. Brita Premium Purified Water, says it is an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles. They are taking on the $20B bottled water industry. Their water is packed in 100% aluminum containers that are highly durable and refillable. They are unlined which while reducing the impact of potentially dangerous liner chemicals, means that the potential for interaction with acid does exist.

Brita Water is being sold nationally. Brita is owned by Clorox. Brita says “we’re selling a solution that is an alternative to single-use plastic.”

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I use tap water to fill my stainless steel water bottle. First I boil the water to get rid of the chlorine then pour it into a glass container and store in the refrigerator. Don’t waste money to buy bottles of water.

Big Island doesn’t even accept recyclable plastic at the transfer stations any longer. The story I’ve heard is no one will buy the plastic for recycling, so it just goes into the normal waste stream. Quite disappointing.

Granted, you can take your HI5 bottles for redemption. But, you pay 5 cents for deposit, and get back about 2 1/2 cents from the redemption center. I do wonder where that plastic goes if other plastic isn’t being recycled.

Personally we prefer to bring our own water refillable water bottles when we travel. Many of the hotels we stay at in Hawaii offer water refill stations. We especially appreciate the Westin Hapuna Beach, which now puts 2 refillable bottles in their guest rooms & refill stations all over the property. That is a stronger msg of malama pond than slapping Aloha on a can. P.S. Not sure what ‘sustainable water source us in Montebello, CA-that’s urban east L.A.no water sources! Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks. Appreciate the heads up about Hapuna Beach too. Right – Hawaii name but Montebello source.

What next? Hawaii air infused with scent of plumeria in an aluminum can for sale on the mainland 😉

Mahalo for objectively reporting on this. Jason Momoa should stick to legitimate acting instead of these misguided ecological publicity stunts.

Great article. Everyone is trying to make a buck. There is a bottled water company in puna (On the Big Island) that’s sells volcanic water. They get their water from the same county well that thousands of people in puna get water from. It’s not horrible water but there is nothing special about it accept for the way it is bottled. Aluminum smelters use huge amounts of electricity.

Thanks. Yes we see that volcanic water bring sold as well.

Well, I read through some of the comments first, but I agree with my little brother, Jason N, that we have to reduce the carbon footprint/splash. You can buy again if you want, BOH, yet, no need if you live in the archipelago/Sandwich islands because the water is already alkaline and “ono”! As for the Hawaiian name you are buying, branding is important wgen supporting a cause…but what do I know, I’m just one little old lady doing my best to pick up plastic off Waikiki/Duke’s Boys Beach/Kahanamoku Beach…

Thanks for the great article BOH! I try my best to alway drink tap water, as it seems plastic bottles end up in the ocean, etc., and are a terrible waste. The problem is, I don’t like tap water in Hawaii. To get around that I make big pitchers of weak iced tea and fill up my reusable water bottle. I also keep Crystal Light on hand to use in a pinch.

I’ve yet to see plain old water in a can, so I’ll have to see about that. Seems ridiculous to market it as Hawaiian, when it’s from another state. 🤷‍♀️

Thanks for always chiming in! We appreciate it. Rob was the one who bought these for $28 so we had first-hand knowledge. Jeff just looks at them and shakes his head.

No, you won’t buy that water again!!!!!

We’ll bring you a bottle. Lol.

Next he’ll be selling us Bitcoin and all it’s virtues. Love how he steals a Hawaiian name like it’s from there. Just another fancy pants actor trying to get richer.

I don’t get this single use. We reuse our plastic bottles all the time – when we finish the factory water we add tap water.

When we have too many plastics we recycle them.

Plastic bags, I can’t tell you how many times we reuse them – dozens and dozens of times.

BTW, we arrive in Waikiki on Friday for 2 weeks+.

Have a great time in Waikiki!! Please let us know how it goes.

Well the timing is funny as I just stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and if you buy bottled water from them, they sell it in an aluminum can at the bargain price of $4.25 per bottle!!! We’ve had aluminum cans for soda for decades and just as many of them end up in the landfill as plastic bottles but these companies, Jason’s included, have just found another way to make money off the sheep that they they are saving the planet by not using plastic bottles. I will continue to buy plastic bottles because I can crush them into tiny little packages that I can then take to the recycle center vs a huge, thick walled aluminum bottle I can’t smash down. The reality is that very few of these will be recycled.

Thanks for so many comments. Good points.

What about the environmental effects on the “paper” box water sold today?

What happened to using “glass” containers/bottles? Long time ago everything (milk, soft drinks) was sold in bottles. You paid a deposit which was refunded to you when you returned the bottles.

Good point. That’s the best kind of recycling – where it doesn’t need to change form.

The way I think about it – would I prefer more plastic trash in the world, or more aluminum trash in the world?

I pick aluminum. It is actually recyclable, as compared to fake plastic recycling. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems more natural too with less long term problems. Although I guess aluminum products often have some sort of liner – not an expert on that.

Thanks. Good points on this subject.

He shouldn’t have cut his hair…

Oh my goodness. What a bunch of lolo people. In my house we use plastic bottles until they collapse then recycle them and plastic bags for transplanting seedlings. (They decompose quickly and allow the plants to stay damp until they’re bigger) Aluminum?? Nope, not happening. Mahalo nui loa Beat of Hawaii. Aloha to all 🌺🌺

Thanks for the input on this, and so many other subjects. Much appreciated.

Use plastic for the cost….plant a tree.

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