Lighter Footstep: 5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water
Editor's note: This week, Lighter Footstep editor Chris Baskind takes a look at reasons not to buy or drink bottled water. This post was originally published on June 19, 2007.
Bottled water is healthy water — right?
That's what the marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.
In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn't stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.
Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It's costly, wasteful, and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems.
Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We've rounded up five to get you started.
Bottled water isn't a good value
Take, for instance, Pepsi's Aquafina or Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than one cent per gallon.
Now consider another widely-sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.
In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at fraction over 2 cents an ounce.
And that's why there's no shortage of companies which want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.
No healthier than tap water
In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.
On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group's National Tap Water Database.
While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there's very little empirical evidence which suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.
Bottled water means garbage
Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.
That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world's major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fish which mistake our garbage for food.
Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist … somewhere.
Bottled water means less attention to public systems
Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety.
This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.
There's plenty of need. In California, for example, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the requirement of $17.5 billion in improvements to the state's drinking water infrastructure as recently as 2005. In the same year, the state lost 222 million gallons of drinkable water to leaky pipes.
The corporatization of water
In the documentary film Thirst, authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies.
Water is being called the "Blue Gold" of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates, and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource.
Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.
What can you do?
There's a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don't like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparking fresh at a fraction of bottled water's cost.
Consider taking Food and Water Watch's No Bottled Water Pledge. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues.
Want to know more? Start with the Sierra Club's fact sheet on bottled water.
Bottoms up!
Copyright © 2007 Lighter Footstep Media
Image credit: Wikimedia
Tags: bottled+water, Food, Health and Health Products, plastic, toxins, water
- Uncategorized
August 17th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I don’t drink bottled water to be pretentious or because I think it’s healthier than tap water (although, I am on a well, not municipal water, so it could be). Instead, I drink bottled water because, for health reasons, I need to drink at minimum four 16.9 fl oz bottles of water a day. When I drink from bottles instead of glasses, I can track exactly how much water I’ve consumed each day.
I have tried a variety of different methods to stop buying bottled water and yet still drink all the water I need — refilling a plastic bottle with tap water, refilling a plastic bottle with water from a jug, Brita filters, etc — but I’ve found that the only way I consistently drink those four bottles is when I have new bottles of water in the fridge.
I do recycle every bottle, though, and everything else that I can.
August 17th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I have to agree for the most part it’s the convenience that drives most people. If people were really worried about their health the junk food industry wouldn’t be so huge. One thing we do at our home is just rinse and refill from the tap. Our boys use the bottles a great deal. They just grab one out of the fridge and off they go. It is funny they never complain that the water tastes different than a bottle that hasn’t been opened (original bottled water). We refill about 50% of our bottled water usage.
Gene
August 17th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
#2 completely ignores even the possibility that fluoride and chlorine might have some negative side effects on human health
August 17th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I want to start out by saying, that of course bottled water is not an ideal solution, for many of the above stated reasons. That being said it seems to me that it is a good thing that people have switched from drinking sugary crap in bottles and cans to water in bottles. Think of all the energy that’s saved because there is only one ingredient to work with instead of the dozen or so in a can of coke, not to mention the aggregate health effect on society from reducing the daily crap intake. Bottled water is also healthier than tap water, I don’t think that can be disputed. My local water has a ppm of about 800, which is just insane. If you use a typical brita carbon filter it reduces it to about 750. I have an R/O system which brings it down to about 0, but if I’m out and about, and don’t have any water from home with me I will buy bottled water, and considering the myriads of polluting sources in our society, I don’t really feel to bad about it. Instead of guilt tripping people into comprmising their health and the happiness of their taste buds, I wish people would focus on solving the problem, take action to bring clean (100 ppm or less) drinking water to all of us.
August 17th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I’m not sure this article is accurate. My bottle of Aquafina right in front of me states that “All bottled waters are not the same. Aquafina’s state-of-the-art HydRO-7 ™ purification system consistently removes substances most other bottled waters leave in…”
Also - it does appear to be healthier. On the side of the bottle it states: “Aquafina is a smart choice because it hydrates and is sodium-free plus every serving is naturally calorie free.”
You guys can keep drinking your dehydrating, fattening salt-water out of your thermoses but I’m sticking with the healthy choice.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:47 am
I bought a stainless steel bottle from Sigg, made in Switzerland. It looks really cool and people are always asking me where I got it. I fill it up with the Brita, and go. So there is nothing to be said about lack of convenience, taste, or “cool” factor. I save hundreds, and reduce waste. Why wouldn’t this become the norm?
August 19th, 2007 at 1:34 am
just a few thoughts. bottled water is not held to any tighter standards than tap, from a human safety standpoint. carbon filters don’t do a good job removing fluoride–for that you need reverse osmosis. nalgene bottles are made of several materials. some popular ones use a plastic with bisphenyl-A. not something i want to drink from. check the bottom of the bottle. type 2 or 4 are as safe as milk jugs and soda bottles, if you find that safe enough. don’t use scratched or damaged bottles–they can leach or off-gas. don’t heat or microwave for the same reasons. bottled water comes in one use bottles. they are not intended for frequent reuse. brita makes a little portable water filter for a bottle. it should get rid of much of the nasty chlorine taste.
August 19th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
There’s another reason that drinking bottled water is a good thing for some people. I live in a very water poor area. Right now we’re going through yet another drought, and are very close to mandatory water restrictions (yet again). Our city has to buy water from other cities as close as a half-hour away that don’t face the same problem because they’re on large rivers. So drinking water that is bottled in a water-rich area and then transported here benefits my water-poor area by reducing the demand on our already strained reservoirs. (We also turn off the tap when brushing our teeth or washing & rinsing dishes, which saves an amazing amount of water. Car washes in the area use recycled water, and most folks — like me — don’t worry about watering their lawns.)
So there’s a lot more to the “bottled water debate” than this article indicates. As with anything, you need to consider your individual situation and make the decision that’s best for you.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
When I was younger my family home had a cistern as our source of water. It was not until I was in high school that this changed. So, growing up it was not an option to drink our tap water and we had to purchase water. It was the most convenient option for a busy family with a busy schedule. Now my tap water is tasty and delicious - so I will drink that while at home, but when I’m out and about I’ll buy bottled water. It’s convenient, it’s safe and clean, and it’s cold! I must point out that there are many other beverages that come in plastic bottles that are not receiving the backlash that water has. How is water more at fault than all the sodas and juices that are sold? I am concerned with the environmental impact so I do recycle and reuse my water bottles and I also recently read in the LA Times that Aquafina has been reducing the weight of their plastic packaging by 40% - another step in the right direction.
August 29th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
What a ridiculous argument. The alternative to bottled water is soft drinks due to portability. So getting people to switch away from bottled water will result in them going back to an alternative that has water, chemicals and aluminum. You should think your argument through a little more thoroughly next time.