Taking a toll on the environment and our wallets, bottled water is becoming more and more unnecessary, particularly in the developed world. With a new generation of affordable home filtration systems, it’s becoming ever more obsolete. The following are five of the main reasons to consider seeking long-term alternatives to bottled water.
1. It creates a high volume of plastic waste.
Bottled water can produce up to 1.5 million tons of waste each year, much of which ends up in oceans, lakes, and landfills. In the UK, 38 million plastic bottles end up in a landfill every single day. This is not entirely the fault of the bottled water industry, however. Plastic bottles used by most companies are recyclable and in high demand by recycling plants. Yet up to 80% of these get tossed aside instead of recycled.
2. Bottled water is not safer than tap water.
Studies have shown that half of all brands of bottles are filled with municipal water supplies. Naturally in developing nations where the tap water is not safe, drinking bottled water may be advisable as a convenient alternative. Yet there are other options if you take issue with the taste or quality of your tap water supply. Using a home filtration system such as a Bibo instant hot water dispenser or a Virgin Pure water dispenser can help save you money while giving you access to high quality distilled water.
3. Bottled water is expensive.
It’s estimated that you pay an average mark-up of 500 times the price of tap water when you purchase a bottle of water. This can add up to hundreds of pounds over the course of a year if you purchase only a few bottles of water a week.
4. It wastes energy to produce.
Because plastic bottles are manufactured using non-renewable sources like petroleum and natural gas, they waste energy. It takes 1.5 million barrels of crude oil to make the water bottles used by Americans alone, which is enough energy to keep 100,000 cars running for one year. The UK is not far behind in consumption. This number goes up when you consider the fossil fuels used to transport these bottles on their journey from the bottling plant to your local store. If you take a bottle of water and then fill it up one-third of the way with oil, this is how much is required to produce and transport it.
5. Plastic bottles leach chemicals into the water.
Although more studies are needed to prove whether or not these chemicals are harmful in the long run, one scientific study undertaken at the University of Heidelberg found that the longer water sits in plastic bottles, the higher the concentration of chemicals will be in the water. High concentrations of antimony were found in this particular study, but this varies according to the type of plastic used in production.
