Bottled water has high environmental costs

[Amelia]

Bottled water has high environmental costs

May 11, 2007

Agence France-Presse

BOTTLED water, the world's fastest growing beverage, carries a heavy environmental cost, adding plastic to landfills and putting pressure on natural springs, the author of a new US report said today.

"Bottled water is really expensive, in terms of environmental costs and economically," said Ling Li, who wrote the report for the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute.

While many in developed countries thirst for safety, cleanliness, taste and social cachet when they buy bottled water, more than one billion of the world's poorest lack access to clean drinking water, bottled or not.

And in developed countries, bottled water may be scrutinised using lower standards than plain tap water, the report said.

The environmental impact can start at the source, where some local streams and underground aquifers become depleted when there is "excessive withdrawal" for bottled water, according to the report.

In addition to the energy cost of producing, bottling, packaging, storing and shipping bottled water, there is also the environmental cost of the millions of tonnes of oil-derived plastic needed to make the bottles.

"The beverage industry benefits the most from our bottled water obsession," Ms Ling said. "But this does nothing for the staggering number of the world's poor who see safe drinking water as at best a luxury and at worst an unattainable goal."

Worldwatch estimated 35 to 50 per cent of urban dwellers in Africa and Asia lack adequate access to safe potable water.

Most water is bottled in polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which requires less energy to recycle and does not release chlorine into the atmosphere when burned. But recycling rates have declined: about 23.1 per cent of PET water bottles were recycled in the United States in 2005, compared with 39.7 per cent 10 years earlier, the report said.

Bottled water costs from 240 to 10,000 times as much as water straight from the tap. In dollars, that means such water sold in most industrialised countries costs $US500 to $US1000 ($605 to $1210) a cubic metre compared with US50 cents (60 cents) a cubic metre in California, where the quality of tap water is high.

World consumption of bottled water more than doubled between 1997 and 2005, with the United States being the largest consumer. US residents drank nearly 28.6 billion litres in 2005, the report found.

Among the countries that use bottled water, India's consumption nearly tripled for the period, and China's more than doubled between 2000 and 2005.

Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, Indonesia and Spain round out the top 10.

[Gerr]

I drink tap water in my home in CA. Many years ago, a friend was trying to sell me a water purification equipment. I told him to come and test my tap water, and if it turns out it is not pure enough, I would buy one. My tap water really came out very good in everything he tested! So yes, the Calif water, at least in my locale is very good & I don't have to buy bottled water.

Speaking of bottled water, I read some time back that many bottled water have been found to be no better than tap water. When I do buy bottled water, I buy distilled water. That way I can either drink it or use to put it in my iron.

Speaking of the plastic container, I heard recently that it can be made from, I believe, the cellulose in corn stalk which is bio-degradable.

Gerry

[bevin]

If it goes into the land-fill, it doesn't biodegrade.

Land-fills are designed not to allow that kind of activity.

/Bevin

[Amelia]

Well at least my bottled water(recyclable gal jugs) doesnt taste like I'm drinking the pool water. The water here where I live is just plain nasty. You can smell all the chemicles they purify it with when you turn on the tap.

Oregon government is trying to pass an ammendment to our bottle bill that would put a 5 cent deposit on water bottles just like we do soda pop and beer. The grocery industry is against that and have come up with a plan to add a collection area for water bottle recycling. Water bottles are not part of the curbside recycling program , only gal jugs. It would probably work as well as the pop and beer program does. Some people participate, some don't. If there weren't cans and bottles tossed by the roadside, how would our transients make a living?

[Gail]

We also bring in our empties for refund. Otherwise the bottles can be recycled in our area if they are made of #1 (Pete), #2 or #5 plastic

We've had a filtration system in our home for years and I like the taste of that water better than tap

[Gerr]

Well at least my bottled water(recyclable gal jugs) doesnt taste like I'm drinking the pool water. The water here where I live is just plain nasty. You can smell all the chemicles they purify it with when you turn on the tap.

That reminds me of the year I lived in Glendale, suburb of LA, CA. I turned the water on on morning to take a shower and the water came out brown!!!

But it's true dgrim60, that it's better to drink even that than die from thirst!

Gerry

[Dr. Shane]

Our water comes right out of the river and sometimes it still has that river taste to it. It is tested and plenty safe but doesn't taste too good. However we buy purified water at water stations with our refillable 5-gallon jugs. Thus we are not contributing more waste to the landfill. It only costs $1.00 for 5 gallons so it is a small price to pay for purified RO water.

[phkrause]

Scientists find about a quarter-million invisible nanoplastic particles in a liter of bottled water The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter-million invisible pieces of tiny nanoplastics, detected and categorized for the first time by a microscope using dual lasers. Scientists long figured there were lots of these microscopic plastic pieces, but until researchers at Columbia and Rutgers universities did their calculations, they never knew how many or what kind. Read more.

Why this matters: Much of the plastic seems to be coming from the bottle itself, said study lead author Naixin Qian. Qian wouldn’t reveal the three brands tested because researchers want to examine more samples. Still, she said they were common, and all four co-authors said they were cutting back on their bottled water use after conducting the study.   Researchers still can’t answer the big question: Are those nanoplastic pieces harmful to health? “That’s currently under review. We don’t know if it’s dangerous or how dangerous,” said study co-author Phoebe Stapleton.

Related coverage ➤ WATCH: Scientists discuss invisible nanoplastic particles in bottled water Spain investigates contamination of Atlantic shore by countless plastic pellets spilled from ship Plastic pollution in oceans on track to rise for decades