Bottled Water And The Effects On The Environment

The industry of bottled water has seen a spectacular development in recent years. This trend has lately begun to change because of the economic climate, but also due to the numerous protest movements that have developed against an industry that, in many respects, appears as an ecological and social abnormality.

The global consumption of bottled water has increased by nearly 60% since 1999. In the United States, bottled water is about 200 times more used than tap water. The Americans consume on average 145 liters of bottled water per year per person. Plastic bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a derivative of crude oil.

On a global level, there are over 2.7 million tons of plastic required each year for 40% of the bottled water distributed in the world. Much of this is actually tap water to which minerals were added. As such, it is recommended to change the type of mineral water on a regular basis in order to avoid absorbing excessive amounts of the same minerals.

The increase in consumption of bottled water cannot be explained logically and it is very damaging to the environment. While bottled water is in most cases no better than tap water in developed countries, it may cost up to 10,000 times more when taking into account the energy used for bottling, deliveries and recycling containers. At about $ 2.50 per liter of bottled water, it ultimately costs more than gasoline.

A bottle of water, once in the hands of the consumer, has a very short life. Indeed, the contents are drunk quickly and soon the bottle ends up in the trash in approximately 88% of cases and sometimes in recycling bins. Recycling bottles of water often means incineration, which releases very toxic gases in the atmosphere. A plastic bottle is not naturally degradable. It is estimated that a bottle will take 1000 years to degrade in nature! Unfortunately, bottles often end up in landfills, mostly in undeveloped countries and thus are buried, or end up in the ocean. The bottles will degrade faster in the sea into small pieces, which are swallowed by birds, fish etc., contaminating the entire food chain.

There are a few alternatives you can consider if you don't want to contribute anymore to the destruction of the environment by drinking bottled water. The easiest and cheapest way is to use tap water. Now, don't be suicidal. Use tap water WITH A FILTER!

If you have the money, you can also get a domestic filtration system, either for the whole house or certain areas like the kitchen or bathroom. These will dramatically reduce the impurities in the water that you drink, use for cooking and even take showers with.

For "on the go" water drinkers who want to protect the environment and drink safe water, use Glass Bottles. Glass is perfect because it isn't toxic and it doesn't leak chemicals into the water. You can also try BPA (toxic) free containers but sometimes those have been found to contain BPA.

By turning this into a habit, you will not contribute to the destruction of the environment anymore and you will save money and be healthier too.

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