Why do people buy bottled water? I find it quite amusing when I see people buy water in a bottle. People think that bottled water is purer than tap water. I would not pay a penny to buy bottled water and I have my own reasons which I will share with you. It will explain why the green buzz says no to ‘bottled water’.
Why you must say no bottled water:
1. A four year study by NRDC found major gaps in bottled water regulation and concluded that bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water.
2. Each year 38 billion (and counting up) water bottles end up in landfills in US, in countries like India they line up railway tracks, stations, roadsides etc. The bottles sit there for an average of 700 years before they would break down. 90% of water bottles are not recycled. Do not even think that changing the shape of a bottled water bottle could help to make it tad more ‘eco-friendly’.
3. It takes about 1.5 billion barrels of oil to manufacture bottles – that is the reason why 1 gallon of bottled water actually costs twice or thrice more than what you pay for 1 gallon of oil at the pump.
4. Tap water is on an average 500 times cheaper than bottled water – making bottled water as the most expensive way of water distribution.
5. Municipal authorities have stringent standards for water that is distributed through pipelines into homes.
6. Even in developing countries like India – I would give tap water distributed by Municipality a thumbs up – along with a home water filtration system.
7. I am particularly worried about the implication of storing water in plastic bottles – Bisphenol A (BPA) which is released when the water is hot(like bottles stored in sun heated cars) or when a plastic bottle is washed with hot water. Read more about BPA at science daily.
NRDC study concludes that in USA there are no specific contamination limits that are set on the bottled water industry. I wonder, if that is the case in USA – would I expect any standards for bottled water in India? According to NRDC one fourth of bottled water is actually plain old tap water in fancy packaging. Several brand names tested positive for industrial contaminants and bacterial contaminants such as – fecal coliforms.
“Some of the contaminants found in bottled water are arsenic, disinfection byproducts and bacteria.” Seattle PI.com, quoting Gina Solomon
Well haven’t I said enough to transform your habit of buy bottled water – into carrying your own reusable water bottle?
So think before you buy yet another bottle to be sent to the landfill.
1. So please use a filter for the tap. However these have a life span and have to be changed after a certain length of time.
2. Invest in a water purification system which uses reverse osmosis, UV, Ozone – these are costly but are very popular in countries like India as it looked upon as a necessity.
3. Store water in glass pitchers for daily use. For parties invest in reusable jars or canisters.
4. Last resort – if you still insist on drinking the so called pure bottled water – make sure that you get a 3 or 5 gallon water bottle. Chances are that you will get it delivered at your home and chances are that it will be reused, recycled,refillable,returnable.
One niggling worry though – if you have a water cooler with these big plastic bottles – do not use the hot water option – remember BPA which is an endocrine disruptor – it mimics the function of the endocrine gland.
As for me – I have always drunk tap water – no matter where in the world I am. Give the tap water a chance – if you are still worried..boil the water, strain it and then drink it. Well who has the time?…Go pick up that bottled water from the store or get it delivered at home!
