Bottled Water's Big Waste
The Healthy Drink That Hurts the Environment
Why tap water may be the healthiest choice after all.
Today, they’re as popular as cell phones, trendy as IPOD’s and almost everyone is sporting one. Just walk down the street, through your office building, or across campus and you’re bound to see at least one, two, or even ten. The newest fashion accessory: bottled water. The problem: it may be destroying the earth.
Most people think they’re making a healthy choice when they opt for the H20 on the go. A recent heath scare about the safety of tap water sent a frenzy throughout the consumer market. People flooded into stores buying up water filters and purification systems and those in the beverage industry began rolling out the single-serve plastic containers that have become a cultural icon of our times. Hailed for its purity and convenience, bottled water quickly became a staple in our everyday life. But according to environmentalists, these little bottles are causing a big problem.
It is estimated that world-wide, over 150 billion bottles of water are manufactured and sold each year. Of these, only 1 out of 5 makes it to a recycling bin, with the rest littering streets and filling up landfills.
In a 2003 report issued by the California Department of Conservation, more than 1 billion water bottles are ending up in the trash each year in that state alone. But the biggest danger produced by the bottles happens before it reaches the consumer. The oil used in the plastic and for shipping and refrigeration purposes adds an unnecessary amount of stress to the environment. With the climate already in crisis, many environmentalists are issuing a urgent call to return to the tap.
"Transporting water around the globe involves burning massive quantities of fossil fuels and thus emitting greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere. This contrasts starkly with tap water, which is distributed through an energy efficient infrastructure," said Janet Larson of the Earth Policy Institute.
Already, the interest in bottled water waste is catching on. Organizations and online communities are filling with people who vow to refill plastic bottles with tap water in order to cut back on their share of the problem and encouraging others to do the same.
“Through education and motivation you can get people to change their habits,” said Emily Lloyd, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection [Marsh, NYT, July 15, 2007].
And at a cost of nearly 2,900 times as much as that of tap water, that habit shouldn’t be too hard to break.
Good bye, bottled water. Hello, tap.
