What's in our water: bottled better?
Bottled water isn't better at all. In fact, it many cases its purity is the same or worse than tap water. But the industry that sells it has gotten the better of us.
According to a four-year study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one-third of the bottled water tested contained levels of contamination which exceeds allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines. Still, the production and consumption of bottled water continues to increase globally, with the United States of America being the leading consumer. This increase is due in large part to successful marketing campaigns which promote the concept that bottled water is safer and healthier than tap water. In fact, city tap water is subjected to more rigorous testing and purity standards than bottled water.
What's more, the environmental impact is huge.
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According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, Americans bought a total of 31.2 billion liters of water in 2006. The Pacific Institute estimates that producing the bottles for American consumption required more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation. Bottling the water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. It took 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.
Then there's the leftover plastic bottles to deal with.
The Container Recycling Institute reports that 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. Incinerating the used bottles produces toxic byproducts and buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. For those who think recycling is the answer, almost 40 percent of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that were deposited for recycling in the United States in 2004 were actually exported, sometimes to as far away as China, thus adding to the resources used by this product.
[via Santa Clara Valley Water District]
Then there's the leftover plastic bottles to deal with.
The Container Recycling Institute reports that 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. Incinerating the used bottles produces toxic byproducts and buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. For those who think recycling is the answer, almost 40 percent of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that were deposited for recycling in the United States in 2004 were actually exported, sometimes to as far away as China, thus adding to the resources used by this product.
[via Santa Clara Valley Water District]
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