Green | June 09, 2008 | 33 comments

Thirst for bottled water unleashes flood of environmental concerns

source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-06-07-bottled-water_N.htm?se=yahoorefer

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JanforGore
Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption take 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, according to a 2007 resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year, according to the resolution.

Cornell University professor and environmentalist Doug James said the irony of bottled water is that it's marketed as clean and healthy when its production contributes to unnecessary environmental degradation.

"Fiji water, for example," he said. "A one-liter bottle is taken out of the aquifer of this little island, and shipped all the way across the world, producing like half a pound of greenhouse gases so you can have this one-liter bottle of water."

The taste question

Another obvious issue in the consumption of bottled water is taste.

In some areas, tap water simply isn't drinkable, Brown said, and in those situations, bottled water is a useful resource.

Other consumers simply prefer the taste of bottled water, Lauria said.

"Consumers have lots of preferences and some people want mineral water for taste," he said. "Everyone has their own reasons for buying products. And some people have a preference for bottled water."

But, Brown argues, perceptions about the taste of tap water and realities about the taste of tap water can be very different things.

To test her hypothesis that tap water tastes as least as good as bottled water, Brown has been conducting a series of taste tests at Ithaca College in the past year.

In five blind taste tests over the last year, the tap water has won four times, she said.

The growth in advertising and consumption of bottled water has occurred "frankly, since the big soda companies bought up water," she said. "They would buy up the Dasanis, and they would buy up the Poland Springs, and you get into the huge marketing machines of the major soda industries, Coke and Pepsi, notably, and they take it to a whole different field."

Water and waste

Then there's the waste stream.

In roughly the last 10 years, the amount of polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles being recycled increased from about 775 million pounds in 1995 to about 1,170 million in 2005, according to the Container Recycling Institute.

But during the same time period, the amount of PET bottles going into landfills skyrocketed from 1,175 million to 3,900 million pounds.

Water bottles are a big part of that problem, Brown says, because there are so many more of them, and because in many states, water bottles don't have a redemption value like soda and beer bottles do.

Lauria said the focus on water bottles is unfair because they make up "less than one-third of one percent" of the entire U.S. waste stream.

"There are many other plastic objects that are in our lives that no one seems to be concerned about and yet it all needs to be recycled," he said. "As you recycle bottled water you should also recycle many other products that are in your refrigerator when you're done with them."

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1.4 billion people worldwide are without potable water, while FIJI water is taken and transported around the world for profit at great environmental cost as women and girls in Africa risk their lives to walk up to nine hours a day to collect only enough jugs of polluted water to last one day for a family of four to six people.There is no moral justice to that at all. And while yes, it is very good to cut as much plastic waste in bottles, bags, etc. as you can, water bottles are targeted because they are an unnecessary waste and because study after study has shown that bottled water is no better than tap water in many cases. Corporations also wish to commoditize and privitize water which is a human right to make it a product on the open market like oil. This is simply something we must not allow to happen especially in wake of the climate crisis that is causing water scarcity and food shortages.
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33 comments // Thirst for bottled water unleashes flood of environmental concerns

  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Yes, that's why there is no need to go through a box of cereal a day. People in this country for the most part overconsume and waste as well. Conservation is also a key to this. Buying less with less packaging also makes less trash.

    • 3 years ago
  • Elligirl
  • April_5210
    • 0
      April_5210  

    • there was an article in Time a while back regarding bottled water. i thought i was doing good but refilling plastic bottles with tap water (for portability, grab n go, etc). but according to Time, bacteria and other icky stuff can stay in the bottles. they suggested using the same type of bottles that redvelvet1278 posted about.
      also, plastic bottles are merely a portion of the problem. our landfills are filled with plastic (and styrofoam) from a wide variety of sources. things we may not even consider, like a box of cereal, has a plastic bag inside.

    • 3 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • midori0
    • 0
      midori0  

    • For the last few months, I rarely use or purchase bottle water anymore. I now use Brita filter system for my taps. I have cats that drinks filter water with me 2. Less bottle and less waste. I need to remember to bring my bottle when I go out.

    • 3 years ago
  • benjaminV
  • stephenthomson
    • 0
      stephenthomson  
    • benjaminV:

      great video, Ben. mesmerizing. And the bottling shots were interesting. It's good that in your video, as we should all do, the connection is made between water the resource and water the commodity.

      It's time we start teaching our kids the connections between everything. that bottled water has a history, and unfortunately, a polluting future.

    • 3 years ago
  • jimmyp
    • 0
      jimmyp  

    • bottled water should be banned except for emergency personnel, victims, etc.

      ps...be sure if you are refilling plastic bottles they are safe. some types are not...

    • 3 years ago
  • googolplexer
  • cerealforeal
  • Tikbalang
    • 0
      Tikbalang  

    • For Sale:
      New device allows you to run your car on empty plastic water bottles. Attach it to your gas tank. Shove empty water bottles down your tank. Go baby, go!
      Investors wanted.

    • 3 years ago
  • stephenthomson
  • JanforGore
  • stephenthomson
    • 0
      stephenthomson  

    • Buy a glass bottle of Kombucha, Snapple, or Nantucket Nectars at the store, and use it to refill with water when you need it. Wash it out from time to time. When you're ready to throw that glass bottle away (into the recycling), you can be 100% positive it will get recycled.

      It feels so much better to take the plastic out of your life!

    • 3 years ago
  • redvelvet1278
  • KosterK7
  • onechance
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • This is a priceless video you have to watch. Food and Water Watch played an April Fool's joke by doing a taste test and making up a fake brand of bottled water called Potomac Springs.... they told people they had special filtration processes like filtering the water through rose petals and piping music into the rooms where the water was being filtered to give it a better flavor and people fell for it. It was only filtered Washington DC tap water they drank....

      Don't be fooled by bottled water.

    • 3 years ago
  • spoore
    • 0
      spoore  

    • Install a Reverse Osmosis Drinking water system in your home for pure filtered water, eliminate the bottles. You can use it for cooking, drinking, cleaning, etc. Pure water with no chemicals. Most bottled water still is topped off with a shot of chlorine...so it's not pure

    • 3 years ago
  • MissAmanda
  • Neghie
    • 0
      Neghie  

    • We like everything packaged for convenience. Everything we do or have needs to be convenient and these beverage companies are capitalizing on our need for speed, always on the go, no time to wait, but plenty of time to create waste. Buy yourself a refillable cup, by a water filter and stop contributing to the deterioration of our planet!

    • 3 years ago
  • jefftego
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • And the bottled water industry is now pulling in more profits than the pharmaceutical industry and some have been forced to note on their labels that the source is tap water. Many however, do not note the source and they must be made to come clean as well. Coca Cola was under fire for quite some time for their invasion of indigenous water rights in India and other countries where they have gone to build plants where the people living there were forced to pay outrageous prices for their water. People also who live in California and other states that are in severe drought shoudn't have to pay five dollars for a bottle of water to drink. It is absolute insanity.

    • 3 years ago
  • shroomfairy
  • stephenthomson
    • 0
      stephenthomson  

    • I've stopped buying plastic-packed beverages entirely, after reading about the Eastern Garbage Patch. I will drink Snapple, Nantucket Nectars, Kombucha, and anything else in glass. I will no longer buy Odwalla, Naked Juice, Vitamin Water, or anything else packed in plastic.
      I urge you to do the same!

    • 3 years ago
  • jubal
  • Elligirl
  • stephenthomson
    • 0
      stephenthomson  
    • stephenthomson:

      because Jubal, only 3-5 % of our plastics are actually recycled. The rest go into landfills or into the ocean. When I buy something in plastic now, especially if it is in a plastic wrapper that has no number, then I can only assume that it will end up in the ocean. 3-5 percent! it's shameful. Glass is glass, you know it will get recycled, so you can feel better about having it in your life.

    • 3 years ago
  • noephoto
    • 0
      noephoto  
    • stephenthomson:

      Not to mention that some localities only take certain numbered plastics. Here in Richmond, VA, they only take #1 and 2 plastics (Naked is #7). And they can't be of the tub variety (like sour cream or yogurt containers). They also tell us to discard the lids. It's easier just to go with glass containers or buy your own fruits and veggies for homemade juices. Also, get a sports bottle for your water needs.

    • 3 years ago
  • BlueDotProdux
    • 0
      BlueDotProdux  
    • Image

    • They say we should be worried about peak water instead of peak oil. Filtration and treatment are the only sustainable options. The toxins and metals in treated water are miniscule compared to the giant morass of plastic soup floating in our oceans and threatening to creating a global Dead Zone.

      We are all guilty, so we are all responsible for being part of the solution.

    • 3 years ago
  • timunuhe
    • 0
      timunuhe  

    • Other countries have said that Americans are the only people dumb enough to buy water because it's been bottled for them, which makes sense, considering we have some of the cleanest drinking water in the world.

    • 3 years ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • I give this story a green light because I think this is a major problem because there are so many of them, those little plastic water bottles. I look at people buying cases and cases of bottled water and the land fills are getting the bulk of them because most Americans are too lazy to recycle.

      We'll just have to unleash Serial Mom on them for not recycling. Kathleen Turner is Serial Mom and she will kill you if you don't recycle; literally.

      Ever since I got a Britta pitcher my tap water tastes delicious, the pure tap water tastes good too, but there is something about that taste after it goes through a Britta that makes it taste like I could have seconds.

      If you can't stand tap water go for the Britta instead of the bottled water; try it, you might like it.

    • 3 years ago
  • JanforGore
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