Did you know that 89 million liters of water is bottled each year for consumers? Why do we bottle our water? Convenience? Safety? I am one of the few people that I know that doesn’t stock up on individual sized bottles of water. Most of my friends have pantries stocked full. Why don’t I buy it? For one, I can’t help but think of how wasteful it is to throw away all of those bottles after you drink the water. If it’s true that you should drink 8 glasses of water a day that is 2,848 bottles of water that a person can go through in a year. Add that up if each bottle costs about $1.
So what is the difference between bottled water and tap water anyways? Did you know that bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and that tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency? Do you have any idea which agency has stricter guidelines? Take a guess…EPA! So our tap water is regulated (and thus potentially safer to drink) than bottled water. Did you know that 25 or more of bottled water is actually tap water that is bottled and distributed to consumers?
It looks like tap water is actually healthier for us and has less impact on the environment when compared to bottled water. So why is it such a big industry? Is it purely the marketing strategies of these big companies? Is it our desire for convenience items? Maybe. But think about it next time you are in the water aisle of the local grocery store. If we all ditched the bottle we could make a huge impact on the environment. It’s not just that we are throwing these bottles out…some actually are getting recycled…but how often does yours end up in the recycle bin? You also have to think about the cost of manufacturing and distributing bottled water. Think about all that plastic (that uses oil in the manufacturing process) that is being generated. Think about all that oil. Think about all the gas required to distribute the bottled water across the country. What a waste. Will you ditch the bottle in 2008?
So what are some alternatives? Why not buy a good refillable bottle to take with you on trips, to work, to the park and beach. If you’re at home why not just fill up a glass with fresh cold tap water (heck…filter it if you’re really that worried about it). It just takes a few extra minutes to think ahead before you leave the house.
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