Bottled water has been a subject of high interest in the latest years. Bottled water is healthy water, or so marketers would have us believe with labels and ads showing deep, pristine pools of spring water, mountain peaks and healthy, active people consuming bottled water during their workouts.
The truth is bottled water is just water and in terms of sustainability, it is a dry well. There are about 50 billion water bottles consumed each year and about 30 billion of them consumed in the US, which means we consume roughly 60% of the world’s water bottles.
1,500 bottles are consumed per second in the US and 9.1 billion gallons were sold in 2011, which is 29.1 gallons per person, the highest in sales and volume in history!
There are many reasons why you should stop buying bottled water. Here are the top 5 reasons!
1. Environmentally Unfriendly
The bottled water industry and our addiction to drinking this water contributes greatly to global pollution, despite well-intentioned recycling campaigns. About 85% of PET bottles are either thrown away or end up in the oceans, posing a threat to marine life. Also, the production of bottled water used the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil, releasing more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2006.
2. Too Expensive
Municipal water costs about 1 cent per gallon. Saying you buy a 20 ounce name brand for $1, that works out to 5 cents an ounce! Bottled water can cost 500 to 3,000 times more than tap water and shockingly, most bottled water is simply just filtered tap water. Some companies filter or radiate the tap water with UV light before selling it to you at several thousand times the cost of municipal tap water. Think twice before buying this glorified tap water!
3. Poor Quality
You should be aware that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has strict guidelines for tap water but does not oversee bottled water regulations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has weaker regulations and applies the EPA’s regulations only selectively to bottled water. They inspect bottled water only if it crosses state lines, but approximately 70% of it never does,making it exempt from FDA oversight.
4. Harmful Bacteria
A study conducted by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which involved testing more than 1,000 water bottles, including 103 bottled water brands, revealed that a third of the brands contained arsenic, bacteria and synthetic organics exceeding allowable limits. Also, Canada’s C-rest laboratories in Montreal found high levels of heterotrophic bacteria in 70% of the dozen bottled water they tested.
These bacteria can be pathogenic and can cause infectious diseases like E. coli. According to the US Pharmacopoeia, heterotrophic bacteria in drinking water should not exceed 500 colony-forming units (CFUs) per millimeter. The highest recorded level from the sample was 80,000 CFUs per millimeter!
5. Plastic Chemicals
Plastic is not just bad for the planet, it is not good for us either. Most small 16-20 oz bottled waters are made from polyethylene terephtalate (PET), which are known to leach harmful plastic chemicals and hormone disruptors into the water. A study conducted in 2000 found that 8 out of 10 large 5-gallon jugs tested left the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) in the water, which has been linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, reproductive development disorders and diabetes. Leaching of plastic chemicals increases with age and heat, so storing bottled water is not a good idea.
Alternatives to Bottled Water
Before you choose pure hype over pure water, you should be aware of the alternatives to bottled water. Tap water and home water purification systems are cheaper and healthier alternatives in the long run. Tap water is regularly tested for bacteria and toxins, falling under the jurisdiction of the EPA. Chlorine, chloramines, and fluoride are routinely added to tap water and water contamination can occur at a thousand different entry points during the trip from the water plant to your home. Thus, every family should seriously consider installing a water purification system in their home for drinking water.
Water purity could be a cause for concern as Each year, it is estimated that contaminated drinking water causes 485,000 deaths. With the high risk of contamination, water treatment techniques should be utilized in households. As essential water might be to all, it would be equally essential to drink clean, drinking water. This is where reverse osmosis systems come in handy, being a great water purification choice as they produce an unlimited amount of ultra-pure drinking water, all from the comfort of your own home. Reverse osmosis removes up to 99% of bacteria, chemicals, heavy metals, organics, and radioactive pollution, producing delicious and fresh drinking water at a fraction of the price of bottled water.
Dime Water provides custom-tailored reverse osmosis water systems to families and businesses alike. Contact us today at 760.734.5787 to find out more about how a reverse osmosis water purification system can help you lead a happier and healthier life.
Resources:
