Don't Buy Bottled Water

by WiredBerries Editors — August 27, 2007

Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? Green Options highlights five reasons not to drink bottled water:

• Bottled water isn't a good value--Most municipal water costs less than one cent per gallon, whereas a 20-oz bottle of water bought for $1 costs 5 cents per ounce.
• It is not healthier than tap water--About 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight. However, in the U.S., municipal water falls under the purview of the EPA and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals.
• Bottled water means garbage--Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year.
• Bottled water means less attention to public systems--Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water or because they question its safety. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.
• The corporatization of water--Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates, and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource. Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.