Tuesday’s Green Tip – Bottled Water Waste

Looking to save a few dollars and be more environmentally conscience? Here’s an easy way to achieve that, don't purchase bottled water and use a refillable water bottle.

You can purchase BPA free bottles in addition to other great products from Greenfeet. We love our Teenie Weenie Greenie (and our Born Free bottles for that matter)!

Bottled Water Quiz

True or False?

1. Bottled water is healthier than tap water.
False. There is often no difference. Little is known about the health risks of water stored in disposable plastic (PET) bottles or the effect of additives over long periods at high temperatures.

2. Bottled water is safer than tap water.
False. The EPA sets more stringent standards for tap water than the FDA does for bottled beverages. Roughly 40% of bottled water is actually tap water.

3. Bottled water is convenient and portable.
True. But using a refillable bottle is just as convenient and less expensive.

4. Most plastic water bottles are recycled.
False. According to the Container Recycling Institute, only 14% of PET bottles are recycled. The rest end up in landfills or as litter. Millions of barrels of oil are required each year to produce and transport them.

5. The market for bottled water is growing.
True. The Beverage Marketing Corporation states that Americans spent more than $9 billion on bottled water in 2004 and that the product’s rate of growth was almost 10% per year for the previous 10 years.

6. The UN is addressing water issues in the developing world.
True. The UN adopted a resolution in 2003 calling this the “Decade for Water.” The Millennium Development Goals also have an objective to halve the number of people who lack reliable and safe drinking water by 2015.

7. Some bottled water is more expensive than gasoline.
True. Often selling for up to $2.50 a liter (which translates to $10 a gallon), bottled water is more expensive than gasoline.

8. My purchase of bottled water is unrelated to safer drinking water for the whole world.
False. The UN estimates that if the world took half of what it now spends on bottled water ($100 billion per year) and invested it in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world could have access to clean drinking water.

Check out this article: Bottled Water Demand May Be Declining