Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
Bottled Water vs. Tap Water: The Facts
Water bottle companies are not required to disclose where their water comes from, how it was treated or what contaminants it may contain (including E Coli. and other dangerous substances), or to disclose their test results.
In taste tests people often cannot tell the difference between bottled or tap, or they prefer their tap water.
The price of bottled water is up to 10,000 times more expensive than tap water.
Americans consume 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water per year, instead of drinking our cleaner and cheaper tap water.
40% of all bottled water is taken from municipal water sources (tap water).
22% of tested bottled water brands contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits.
Plastic is not easily recycled and it does not break down in landfills. Once we make it, it will outlive us for 1000’s of years.
17 million barrels of oil are used in the production of water bottles every year, this is equivalent to enough fuel for 1 million cares for a year.
It takes 3 times the amount of water to produce the bottle as it does to fill it. In other words, when you buy 1 liter of water, you are really consuming 4 liters, but you only get to drink 1.
Only 1 in 5 water bottles are recycled! The other 4 end up in landfills and in our Oceans (especially in the ocean gyres).
All plastic water bottles leach synthetic chemicals into the water to some degree.
Bottled water companies often hurt the communities that they are taking the water from by buying all of their local water and forcing them to either pay higher prices or drill their own wells.
What can we do?
Bring back public water fountains, drink from the tap, use reusable bottles, and help ban bottles in your city, county, and state.
Don’t like the taste of your local water? Filtering your water at home and drinking out of glasses or a re-usable water bottle are a great way to get the taste you want while saving money and resources.
