Green Daily

One reason for the widespread use of bottled water that is rarely mentioned is, even though a lot of people realize what they are getting is little more than filtered tap water, that it is convient. You can open the fridge, grab a bottle and run out the door. You don't have to get your *insert your favorite water bottle here*, take off the top, fill it up, add ice (if you want or even if the opening is big enough to allow), put the top back and on and go. Then, you have to clean it and sometimes, before you do all of the above, you have to wonder if you cleaned it lately and stop to clean it just to make sure. Now, in reality, all that might add a minute or three to what you are doing, but today, that is a long time to wait for a lot of people.

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Using bottle water may be convenient. However, it is a huge waste of money. Studies have shown that buying bottled water costs about 1900 times more than drinking normal tap water. The average American family of 4 uses an average of about 1875 gallons per month. Around 60 gallons of that is used as drinking water. The average monthly water bill is approximately 150 dollars. I calculated the cost of the 60 gallons of water used for drinking and it equates to approximately $4.80. That means that each gallon is only 8 cents. You cannot purchase a gallon of water in any super market for 8 cents. At Shoprite a gallon jug of water is priced at $1.39. That is $1.31 more than if you were to use only tap water. $1.31 might not seem like that much but it adds up. The same 60 gallons would cost you $83.40. Why waste your money? However, many people purchase 20 ounce bottles from vending machines everyday for on average $1.50. This means you are paying 7.5 cents per ounce. Personally I think that is a bit ridiculous. Aside from the fact that it is a waste of money reusing these bottles is unsafe and can be potentially harmful to your health. Bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. Think about that the next time you crack open a bottle of water. And the fact that people do not feel the need to recycle is another problem. Not recycling water bottles is horrible for the environment. It is much more intelligent to use tap water not only for economical reasons but also for health and environmental precautions.

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