As someone who did a lot of her growing up in the 1980s, I was always envious of anyone with a SodaStream, which, for reasons that now escape me, our household never had, writes Sheena Grant.

I loved to visit friends who did have one of the drink-makers that carbonated tap water and were able to “get busy with the fizzy”. I longed to be part of the crowd who bought those mysterious gas canisters from Boots, along with the bottles of brightly-coloured flavoured cordials.

But it wasn’t to be and, luckily, I got over my disappointment pretty quickly. If I thought of SodaStream at all in the intervening years (which I don’t think I did), it would have been as a relic of the ’80s that had probably ceased to exist.

But, actually, SodaStream is still going strong (although perhaps not as strongly as in its 1980s heyday) and these days it’s being marketed for its environmental and thrifty credentials. The idea is that if you’re a regular consumer of sparkling water you can save a fortune in cash, and save the planet a whole lot of waste plastic, by investing in a SodaStream and making your own.

This fits in pretty well with my latest thrifty trial, to cut down on my use of plastic. So when I was offered the chance to join SodaStream’s Plastic Bottle Challenge, I felt I couldn’t refuse.

Apparently, around seven million litres of plastic water bottles are bought every day in the UK, and although most can be recycled, the evidence is that more than 40% of them are just thrown away, adding to waste in landfill sites, on roads, beaches and in the sea. When it breaks up, it pollutes soils or water and can enter the food chain.

As part of the Plastic Bottle Challenge I’ve been sent a SodaStream to try out and see what difference it makes to my lifestyle.

Now, I have to admit I’m an occasional rather than a regular buyer of sparkling water, but I use it often enough, mixing it with fruit juices and squashes, especially in summer, to make it worth my while to take part in the challenge.

The SodaStream has been delivered and just fits on my worktop, under a kitchen wall unit. It comes with a reusable plastic bottle and there are apparently three different “fizz levels” I can experiment with.

I may be at least 30 years behind most people but it’s finally my time to “get busy with the fizzy”, as SodaStream’s ad in the 1980s advised.

I’ll let you know how I get on over the next few weeks.

To find out more, look out for #PlasticBottleChallenge or #SparklingWaterOnTap on Twitter.

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