For many years now, bottled water has been growing in popularity. People seem to favor the taste and convenience that this product can offer. It is water that is purified, is made safe to drink, is put into glass or plastic containers and is sealed. It has been a good choice of beverage for hydration and many other health purposes.
But while water is undeniably great for you, what about the other factors, such as the whole bottled part?
Let us take a look!
Where does Bottled Water Come From
45 percent of all bottleled water in the United States comes from the municipal water supply, meaning that companies, including Aquafina and Dasani, simply treat tap water—the same stuff that comes out of your faucet at home—and bottle it up. The other 55 percent is spring water, including Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead. Aug 11, 2014
So, what THIS means is, about half the time the water in the bottle your drinking, initially came from a tap, just like the water in your home. This includes by the way, those 5 gallon jugs on bottled water coolers.
Bottled Water Comes From The Most Drought-Ridden Places In The Country
Popular brands like Aquafina and Dasani come from the most draught ridden parts of the west! Bottled-water drinkers, we have a problem here. There’s a good chance that your water comes from California, a state experiencing the third-driest year on record. Regardless of whether companies bottle from springs or the tap, lots of them are using water in exactly the areas that need it most right now.
It Poses Health Risks Due To The Chemicals In The Plastic.
MOST bottled water products contain chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), in the plastic container. These compounds can seep into the water, which means you are most probably consuming them. This risk is greatly increased if the content is stored in hot areas, like those where direct sunlight is present.
Bottled Water Can Have Similar (or even worse) Quality Than Tap Water.
Considering that you may not even be getting better quality water when you buy bottled water, it can be a plain common sense to fill your own instead. You just need clean water and a good water bottle.
It Poses Many Unfavorable Environmental Hazards.
The problem can start when empty water bottles are not properly disposed, which contributes greatly to the whole pollution problem. Huge percentage of bottles are ending up in trash cans and landfills, having harmful effects on the environment.
According to a report, Americans buy more than 30 billion liters of water per year, most of which are contained in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. This means nearly 900,000 tons of plastic, which also take 17 million barrels of oil to produce. What’s worse, it is found that only 20% of these bottles make it to the recycling bin.
The bottled water trend might be doing more for good health, but it is affecting the environment negatively big time.
Bottled Water, Safe, But Not Smart
In conclusion, bottled water certainly has its place in today’s society. It makes staying hydrated on the go more of a breeze. However, people should start lessening their dependency on it and become accustomed to the taste and simplicity of purified/filtered tap water.