Bottled water manufacturers want you to think you’re drinking from crystal-clear springs in deep, wooded forests, or cold, mountain streams frolicking through a pristine, alpine meadow. In reality, what you’re drinking is often plain tap water that has been filtered into plastic bottles and advertised as pure, mountain spring water. Filtered tap water is often a better choice for you and your family. Here are ten reasons to stop drinking bottled water.
- There is no proof to suggest that bottled water healthier than tap water. Because bottled water is only regulated by the FDA if it crosses state lines, 70% of bottled water is never tested for contaminates. By contrast, municipal water systems in the United States are highly regulated, and frequently tested for harmful bacteria and pollutants.
- PET plastic water bottles make up half of all the plastic collected by municipal recycling programs, yet only 23% of all water bottles are recycled. This amounts to more than a million tons of PET plastic being thrown away each year.
- According to the nonprofit organization, The Pacific Institute, producing water bottles for this unsustainable practice requires 17 million barrels of oil to make 900,000 tons of plastic.
- Bottled water is more profitable that gasoline for manufacturers, who charge a premium price for water that cost just pennies to produce.
- Many believe that access to clean, affordable water is a human right, but the commercialization of bottled water has led to many for-profit water distributors pushing for privatization of a precious resource that should belong to everyone.
- 90% of the price of bottled water is used for advertising, bottling, packaging, and shipping.
- Twice as much water is used in the production of bottled water as the water used to fill the bottles. In other words, for every liter of water produced, two more liters are wasted.
- For every ton of PET plastics produced, three tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
- According to the International Bottled Water Association, Americans consumed more than 9.67 billion gallons of water in 2012, amounting to an average of 30.8 gallons per person in a single year.
- Local water compliments local foods. You can’t get more local than water from your municipality, piped into your own home using tax dollars that you have paid with your own hard-earned money.
The environmental cost of the bottled water industry is an important consideration to be aware of when deciding where your own drinking water comes from. Although the majority of our earth is covered with water, only 2.59% is fresh water suitable for drinking. Of all the fresh water on Earth, only .59% is accessible and found in lakes, groundwater, and rivers. Because it is so important to the survival of all living species, water must be protected against contamination, and respected as our most important natural resource. Filtering your own tap water into durable and reusable bottles is an easy and inexpensive way to keep your family and our planet safe and healthy.
