SPECIAL FEATURES:
Email
5 reasons not to drink bottled water
It's expensive, wasteful and — contrary to popular belief — not any healthier for you than tap water.
Mon, Mar 15 2010 at 1:04 PM
Related Topics:
BOTTLES, BOTTLES EVERYWHERE: Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. (Photo: quinn.anya/Flickr)
Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.
In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn't stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.
Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It's costly, wasteful and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems.
Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We've rounded up five to get you started.
1) Bottled water isn't a good value
Take, for instance, Pepsi's Aquafina or Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than 1 cent per gallon.
Now consider another widely sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.
In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at a fraction over 2 cents an ounce.
And that's why there's no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.
2) No healthier than tap water
In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.
On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group's National Tap Water Database.
While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there's very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.
3) Bottled water means garbage
Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.
That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world's major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fish which mistake our garbage for food.
Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist — somewhere.
4) Bottled water means less attention to public systems
Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety.
This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.
There's plenty of need. In California, for example, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the requirement of $17.5 billion in improvements to the state's drinking water infrastructure as recently as 2005. In the same year, the state lost 222 million gallons of drinkable water to leaky pipes.
5) The corporatization of water
In the documentary film Thirst, authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies.
Water is being called the "Blue Gold" of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource.
Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.
What can you do?
There's a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don't like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water's cost.
Consider taking Food and Water Watch's No Bottled Water Pledge. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues. Want to know more? Start with the Sierra Club's fact sheet on bottled water.
Bottoms up!
Copyright Lighter Footstep 2008
You might also like:
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
EDITORS' PICKS
Advertisement
TODAY'S MOST POPULAR ON
- Tornado survivor finds dog during live TV interview
- Superfoods: 11 berries to improve your health
- 5 of the best-looking cars ever
- Why we turn to dogs when disaster strikes
- 13 natural remedies for the ant invasion
- Watch: Tornado survivor finds dog during TV interview
- Kidnapped women will have chance to adopt Ariel Castro's dogs
- Bride finds self-esteem by taking a diet from her mirror
- Is that snake venomous?
- Happy World Turtle Day
From our sponsor
NEWSLETTER
Advertisement
Water For Water's heart is for those in need, those who find themselves without access to safe drinking water for themselves and their families..It’s easy for us to take water for granted. If you have always turned on the tap and clean water has flowed out, why wouldn’t you think everyone else has the same privilege?
Check this out racing pigeons
Water For Water's heart is for those in need, those who find themselves without access to safe drinking water for themselves and their families..It’s easy for us to take water for granted. If you have always turned on the tap and clean water has flowed out, why wouldn’t you think everyone else has the same privilege?
check this out
Water For Water's heart is for those in need, those who find themselves without access to safe drinking water for themselves and their families..It’s easy for us to take water for granted. If you have always turned on the tap and clean water has flowed out, why wouldn’t you think everyone else has the same privilege?
The EWG hasn't a clue. Our water supply has been cited 3 times for excessive URANIUM, above 30 ug/L and EWG's only data is 3 years old so don't go by their information. Next, why doesn't the community and/or government of some assocation tell people what TO DO in such cases?
By deciding to purchase a quality water filter you can add a layer of protection between you and what your local municipality is throwing at you. One of the best filters for the price is Essence water filters. Cost per gallon beats Brita and Pur plus alot of contaminant protection they don't have.
Nice points, I agree whole heartedly. Have you seen these water bottles that filter tap water. A great solution to the bottled water problem.
Check out http://www.hydrosbottle.com
I do agree with the fact that plastic harms environment which ultimately affects the humans. As well as recent updates says, plastic bottles can be one of the reason for cancer.
For more information on health updates : http://www.kamagrarx.com/
Good points about plastics and the environment. Plus it is 'cool' to carry your own re-usable bottle.. right?
It is good to have the option to filter our tap water as well.
Vicki
AntiAgingByDesign.com
Just add Kool Aid to yo tap water it kils everything & makes your tongue a funny color for free!
Where can I get some of this free Kool-Aid, yo?
Target
Most bottled water is really tap water, it has the same stuff as tap water only in smaller quantities. Whats the bloody point!
http://metalwaterbottles.org
get specs from the filter system companies and compare to the bottled water you buy. For people lucky enough to have well water, typically it is pretty great tasting. there is no one answer. please everyone think about reducing plastic bottles and at the same time drink the healthiest water possible. It should be logical that is bottling companies can filter the water and the charge an arm and a leg that the same thing could be done at our home water supply? Logical?
That's faulty logic, tom -- ground water is the source of our drinking water and the wells are only as clean as . . . you got it.
it should be clear to everyone that the answer is good inexpensive home filtration systems. Not enough companies promote this. Sadly most people will spend 1000 dollars a year, EVERY year than put a 500 dollar system in their house as an example.
I just installed an RO system under my sink for under $200.00 off E-Bay, It brings it down to about 75 from 625 TDS, I'm happy. We take reusable plastic bottles with us when we go out.
We have Uranium above safe levels out here - have you had your water tested for Uranium, etc., too? Does RO remove it? We're not sure.
I drink water from my rainwater tank cause we also have a big dam and the water is pumped up the hill through the tanks and is ready! By the way bottled water is pretty bad as it contains chemicals that wash into your water and you drink it!
Plastic contains BPA (Bisphenol-A) which leaches onto anything it contains and when ingested creates estrogenic properties in the body as well as other side effects. Not cool.
It takes 1/3 bottle of oil to make one platic bottle and than add the cost of transporting all those bottled wattle.
how can water be unhealthy
Pages