Bottled Water – What Are The Facts?
For the past decade or so, sales figures for bottled water have been steadily rising by 7 – 8% each year. The level of consumption worldwide is estimated to have more than doubled between 1997 and 2005.
Approximately 200 billion bottles of water are consumed worldwide each year. The US market is the largest by far, with 25% of all sales worldwide.
However, there has been a recent backlash against the use of bottled water. One of the main concerns is the environmental effect which bottled water has. The actual bottles are usually manufactured from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is a recyclable material – but the actual level of recycling is held to be lower than 25%.
The energy required for production, transportation and disposal of the bottles is also a source for concern among environmentalists. When compared with tap water, bottled water creates carbon emissions which are three orders of magnitude greater on a per litre basis.
Despite the very effective marketing of the bottled water suppliers, there seems to be no evidence that bottled water is, in developed countries at least, any better for your health than plain old tap water. Some bottled waters have been found to contain estrogenic chemicals and even uranium. Many bottled waters have some quantity of salt – which is not good for your blood pressure.
In terms of taste there is little firm evidence that bottled water is any better than tap water. London tap water came third out of 24 different waters used in a UK blind taste test. In the USA, a 2007 episode of Penn and Teller (which may have been more entertaining than scientific – but still merits a mention) showed that diners could not distinguish between bottled water and water sourced from a garden hose.
In terms of cost to the consumer the exact ratio will vary according to the brand of water under consideration, but generally speaking bottled water costs several hundred times more per litre than tap water.
So, in terms of environmental impact, health, taste and cost, bottled water really doesn’t have a lot going for it. If you really don’t like the taste of the water from your tap (maybe due to chlorine used to clean it) then you might wish to consider some type of home filtration system. The cost will be more than for tap water, but a lot lower than bottled water. If you go for a solution such as the Brita water filter jug then you will know that it’s better for the environment as all parts of the filters are recyclable.
Of course, if home filtration systems are great for when you’re at home – but if you like to carry water with you when you’re out and about then you could use and reuse a bottle which you fill at home, or the office, before you leave. Again, Brita Water are a good example having combined with international designer Orla Kiely to produce the Wottle – which claims to be the world’s first designer reusable bottle and is manufactured from 100% recycled material. Or you could do your own recycling and use an old Coke bottle.