Is Bottled Water Better?
Is Bottled Water Better?
by Elizabeth Borelli,
Sustainability Evangelist, Nubius Organics
www.nubiusorganics.com
Bottled water is a new trend with a huge payoff, and price tag. As few as
ten years ago, there was no market for bottled water. Today, the approximately
2 million plastic bottles used in the US every 15 minutes drive this
multi-billion dollar market. Why the shift? Bottled water manufacturers’ spends
millions of dollars encouraging the perception that their products are purer
and safer than tap water. But the reality is that tap water is actually held to
more stringent quality standards than bottled water, and some brands of bottled
water are just tap water in disguise. The environmental price tag carries the
hidden costs. "It causes 60 million plastic bottles A DAY to be
manufactured, transported and then disposed of in U.S. landfills. It's killing
our planet, and for no good reason..."
-Eric Olsen, Natural Resources Defense Council
Environmental Impact
Fossil fuel consumption. Approximately 1.5 million gallons
of oil—enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year—are used to make plastic
water bottles, while transporting these bottles burns thousands more gallons of
oil. In addition, the burning of oil and other fossil fuels (which are also used
to generate the energy that powers the manufacturing process) emits global
warming pollution into the atmosphere.
Water consumption. The growth in bottled water production
has increased water extraction in areas near bottling plants, leading to water
shortages that affect nearby consumers and farmers. In addition to the millions
of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process, two gallons of water
are wasted in the purification process for every gallon that goes into the
bottles.
Waste. Only about 10 percent of water bottles are recycled,
leaving the rest in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic
to decompose.
The Simple (and Cheaper) Solution
The next time you feel thirsty, forgo the bottle and turn to the tap. You’ll
not only lower your environmental impact but also save money—bottled water can
cost up to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water. And because the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for tap water are more stringent
than the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water, you’ll be
drinking water that is just as safe as, or safer than, bottled. For water on
the go, try SIGG or Klean Kanteen. Bringing your own bottle is also safer than
drinking from plastic, which has been shown to leach BPA, a hormone disruptor,
into the liquid contents.
If, however, you don’t like the taste of your tap water or are unsure of its
quality, you can buy a filter pitcher or install an inexpensive faucet filter
to remove trace chemicals and bacteria. If you will be away from home, fill a
reusable bottle from your tap and refill it along the way; travel bottles with
built-in filters are also available, such as the New Wave Enviro Biodegradable
Reusable Filter Bottle available at www.nubiusorganics.com.
Both for your health, your wallet and most especially for the planet, reusable
is the right solution!