Bottled water is bad for the environment
According to the National Geographic 1, “Bottled water is a drain on the environment: The U.S. public goes through about 50 billion water bottles a year, and most of those plastic containers are not recycled. Transporting the bottles and keeping them cold also burns fossil fuels, which give off greenhouse gases.” 1500 plastic bottles are consumed every second. Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times. And, it will take 1000 years for the plastic to degrade.
It can pose health threats
The plastic in bottled water often contains chemicals BPA and phthalates, which are proven to be hazardous to human health.3
It’s not proven to be any safer than tap water
The non-profit, non-partisan Environmental Working Group (EWG) says, “The government does not mandate that bottled water be any safer than tap water. In fact, the chemical pollution standards are nearly identical.” Historically, bottled waters have even been recalled for contamination with particulate matter, mold and bacteria.4 Further, as reported by ABC, environmental advocate Mae Wu has performed studies which show bottled is no safer or cleaner: There is actually more testing federally mandated on tap water than bottled. 100 compounds of tap water must be tested every day and the results posted online.5.
It doesn’t necessarily taste better
In this video by ABC, in a blind taste test, many even preferred the taste of tap water over bottled.
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100310/why-tap-water-is-better/
- https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/recycling-in-zion-national-park.htm
- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/just-how-harmful-are-bisphenol-a-plastics/
- http://www.ewg.org/research/your-bottled-water-worth-it/bottle-vs-tap-double-standard
- http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/bottled-water-tap-water-difference-21202028