The Cost of Bottled Water
Bottled Water’s Impact on Your Money, Health, and the Environment
Many people buy bottled water because they believe it is better for them or safer than tap water. The truth is that bottled water has no health benefits over tap water, and tastes no different than what comes out of the faucet. By switching to tap water, consumers can save money and be green at the same time.
Money Spent on Bottled Water
Bottled water is a $100 billion a year industry. The U.S. is the leading consumer of bottled water, buying $15 million worth of bottled water every year. According to “Message in a Bottle” by Charles Fishman, bottled water can cost 10,000 times more than tap water–about $10 per gallon for high-end brands. Americans spend more a year on bottled water than on iPods® or movie tickets.
Trillions of dollars have been spent in the developed world to make tap water safe, yet people in these countries are the consumers of bottled water. In the meantime, over a billion people worldwide have no access to clean drinking water.
People who are concerned that their tap water is not as clean as bottled can buy a water pitcher with a filter or install a filter on their faucets. Filtering 16 ounces of tap water costs pennies compared with about a dollar to buy the same amount of bottled water.
No Health Benefits to Bottled Water
In many developing countries, the drinking water is contaminated by bacteria and chemicals and unfit for human consumption. In the developed world, however, research shows bottled water is no healthier or safer than tap water. In fact, tap water quality is actually more closely monitored in many places than is the quality of bottled water.
Recent tests comparing New York City tap water to five national brands of bottled water found virtually no difference in the bacteria content of each. And blind tastes tests consistently show that consumers actually like the taste of tap water as much as, or more than, bottled water.
Surprisingly, about 40 percent of bottled water is actually tap water. Despite pictures of mountains and streams on their labels, popular bottled water brands Aquafina® and Dasani ® (which comprise about 25 percent of the bottled water market in the U.S.) are in reality processed tap water. Additionally, the minerals added to some bottled waters have no known health benefits.
Bottled Water’s Impact on the Environment
Earth Policy Institute data show Americans buy 28 billion water bottles a year, 86 percent of which end up in landfills. These bottles take a thousand years to degrade. In addition, huge amounts of fossil fuels are used in producing and transporting bottled water. Finally, water shortages are not uncommon in the locales where water is collected for bottling.
Consumers can save money and help the environment by filling a reusable plastic or aluminum bottle with water from the faucet. Avoid plastic bottles that contain high density polyethylene (BPA), a potentially harmful chemical that may leach into the water. Bottles with the recycling symbol #7 on the bottom contain BPA.
In spite of what many people believe, bottled water doesn’t taste any better or offer substantial health benefits over tap water. Bottled water also contributes unnecessary strain on the environment and on our wallets. Save money, stay healthy, and be green by drinking tap water.
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