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Bottled vs. Tap Water
Our nation likes to package things. From pre-maid meals to houses, we rely on factories
to do most things for us. The amount of oil and machines needed to run all these factories takes a
toll on our climate. And then we began to package something second only to air. Public drinking
water in the United States for the most part is perfectly good. Yet our country insists on buying
into the $425 billion yearly industry of bottling water that is destructive and harmful to our
environment and ourselves.1
In 2006, the average American consumed near 686 bottles of water. And in 2007 the
country drank fifty billion bottles of water alone.2 European water corporations such as Nestlé
and Perrier took the general view of polluted water and doubled it as a way to make people afraid
of public water.3 When people bought bottled water instead of using their taps, they fueled the
industry that is now at a similar level to oil in our economy.
These companies used negative advertising, making tap water look unsafe and
unsanitary, even though “more than 89 percent of tap water meets or exceeds federal health and
safety regulations, regularly wins in blind taste tests against name-brand waters, and costs 240 to
10,000 times less than bottled water” said Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania: How Water
Flow. Dir. Irena Salina. Prod. Steven Starr. 09/12/08.
Royte, Elizabeth. "Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It | Water |
AlterNet." Home | AlterNet. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.alternet.org/water/85859/>.
Flow. Dir. Irena Salina. Prod. Steven Starr. 09/12/08.
Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. Elizabeth also mentions in her book how Americans like
bottled water because it’s “private, portable, and individual.” Nothing seems more dirty than
drinking from a water fountain when you could be drinking from a bottle of water "Untouched
by Man" (Figi Bottled Water). What companies don’t tell the consumer is that most of their
water is just filtered tap water.
These advertisements and small lies are what made our nation afraid of tap water. Tested
daily, if not hourly by the EPA, most public drinking water is safe despite what some large
corporations might say. And the cost of one gallon of tap water is less than a penny, while the
price of a twelve ounce bottle can be anywhere from one dollar to three dollars. For the price of
that one bottle of water, you could have gotten one hundred and fifty gallons from your kitchen
Sure, the taste of tap water varies depending on the pipes it runs through or its source.
Public water facilities are tested frequently, while private water companies only have to be tested
anywhere from every week to once every four years. This difference is unfair, seeing as the
water for both public and private come from the same sources. Public waterworks are required to
publish any reports of contamination in the water to their consumers, and private companies are
not required to even put the source of their water on the bottles.4
While the water corporations advertise and pull in millions of consumers, the amount of
Conis, Elena. "Bottled versus Tap: Which Is Safer? - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles
From The Los Angeles Times. 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/
2008/oct/13/health/he-nutrition13>.
waste made from bottles alone is substantial. On average, more than 6 million plastic bottles are
thrown out by Americans each year.5 These bottles are made of petroleum and natural gas, and
the average amount of oil used to make the number of plastic bottles in the U.S. is around 1.5
million barrels. That is enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars for a year. “Add in the substantial amount
of fuel used in transporting water, which is extremely heavy, and the impact on the environment
is anything but refreshing.”6
The Campaign for re-usable bottles has helped Americans see for themsleves how bad
plastic bottles are for the environment. If you went from drinking your eight or so glasses of
water from plastic bottles everyday to refilling your own, you would save over $1,400 every
year and keep thousands of plastic bottles out of landfills.7 With less oil and waste thrown
out, our water would be less polluted and safer for drinking. The money we save each year
could potentially go towards improving the public waterworks in our country and also towards
countries whose water supply is actually dangerous to drink.
“One, you can save money. And two, you don’t have to fill up landfills with plastic
bottles that are going to be there for 1,000 years after you’ve gone, not to mention the oil
Franklin, Pat. "News - Waste Management World - Down the Drain." Container Recycling
Institute. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.container-recycling.org/media/newsarticles/plastic/
2006/5-WMW-DownDrain.htm>.
"In Praise of Tap Water - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World
News & Multimedia. 1 Aug. 2007. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/
opinion/01wed2.html>.
"In Praise of Tap Water - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World
News & Multimedia. 1 Aug. 2007. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/
opinion/01wed2.html>.
that’s used to make those bottles, to truck those bottles, to refrigerate those bottles, all to get a
product that is, give or take, the same thing you’re getting out of a tap.” said Mr. Yaverbaum of
Tappening, in an effort to turn Americans away from plastic bottles. Re-usable plastic will go a
long way.
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