ONE bottle of water has the same impact on the environment as driving a car 1km

[The Straight Story]

Bottled water in hot water

ONE bottle of water has the same impact on the environment as driving a car 1km, a study has shown.

The British research, aired on a BBC Panorama documentary, found the production of some bottled water brands generated up to 600 times more CO2 than tap water.

Planet Ark founder John Dee agreed, saying it took two litres of water and 200ml of oil to produce a single litre bottle of water.

"Australians spend more than $500 million a year on bottled water. Our tap water is extremely good quality and it doesn't make sense," Mr Dee said.

He said only 35 per cent of plastic bottles were recycled, the rest ending up as litter or landfill.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23243175-2862,00.html

2nd hand bottled water drinking, your bottled water is affecting me! :)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. And I really like water. Damn.

:cry:

[Lorien]

36. Pur or Brita filter. n/t

[wtmusic]

2. Reverse osmosis rocks. nt

[peace13]

3. That was the best investment we ever made.

No more bottles, no more full recycle bins. It's all good. Peace, Kim

[devilgrrl]

17. Forgive my ignorance but what's that?

:blush:

Sounds interesting.

[wtmusic]

21. It's a process that purifies tap water

We have a unit that sits under the sink. It cost about $600, but has more than paid for itself compared to bottled water:

http://www.hydrotechwater.com/Reverse%20Osmosis/1240_pro_series.htm

Water coming out, when the filters are new, has a purity of 10-15 parts per million of dissolved solids, compared to Sparkletts which I tested at 30 ppm. To be fair, Sparkletts adds minerals for taste. I didn't really care about that, I just wanted pure water.

The tap water where I live has anywhere from 200-350 ppm and only God knows what's in it...likely a percentage is industrial solvents as there is groundwater pollution in the area.

Devilgrrl, ignorant? Ha! Good one. :-)

[devilgrrl]

27. thanks :-)

I live in a apartment and the water pipes are most likely as old as the building (late 1930's). The water is rust colored when you turn on the tap. You have to let the water run for a minute (not wise for drought reasons) until it clears up. Also, my landlord is a seething asshole and I doubt he'd consider such a device. He threw a shit-storm when I suggested that he fix the clothesline out back.

[Mugu]

28. Most people don't understand that water can be "too" clean to drink.

I know that most people don't believe that but there's a reason to not drink DI water. The inorganics aren't just for taste and most likely your meter won't measure organics. If you're worried about organics be sure that you have a good carbon filter post RO.

Regards, Mugu

[wtmusic]

30. There are plenty of other sources for minerals

and Sparkletts and most other companies' water comes straight out of an industrial RO unit anyway, so what's the diff?

[Mugu]

32. If it sounded like I was attacking RO then I appologize.

However, the commercial water companies that I have been to didn't use RO but instead used deionizers and then added back salts. Would you drink DI water, I wouldn't.

Regards, Mugu

Edit: Can't believe that I can't see the difference between "the" and "that" before I post.
Second Edit: A large problem with very clean water is bacterial blooms.
Third Edit: RO still doesn't address organics the way people thinks that it does.

[wtmusic]

34. Actually I am having a "biofilm" issue right now

Is that the same as bacterial bloom? The RO output is slow, and I've been advised by my RO tech that it is a municipal problem and that I need to change a carbon filter.

It was my understanding that municipalities dealt with any bacterial problems by adding chlorine, so what exactly is it in the water you're drinking which prevents it?

I didn't interpret your post as attacking, just trying to learn here. :thumbsup:

[Mugu]

38. I don't know anything about "biofilm"

I only know that the RO unit that I have does an exceptional job of cleaning the dissolved inorganics from the water (about 95%.) But, even with a small (1.5 gallon) storage tank it began to stink in no time. It may seem counter intuitive, but bacteria blooms happen very quickly in exceptionally clean environments.

Apparently, I needed a smaller storage tank in order to exchange the water more often. You can use a poison such as chlorine to kill the bacteria or you can change the water often to minimize the bacteria population. Not all bacteria are harmful, but most stink.

Regards, Mugu

Edit: Damn, too much to drink (ethanol not water,) forgot to mention that the lack of minerals in water enables the water to leach minerals from your body (the universal solvent and all that.) Don't believe me, then drink lots of DI water while exercising.

[JustDavid]

4. yeah but

bottled water is just so trendy....

[cbayer]

5. It's weird, isn't it?

And a real testament to the powers of marketing.

Tap water in a bottle sold by the Coca-cola company costs up to $4.

And when I ask people about it, they tell me it tastes better.

It tastes better? It's water. It's not supposed to taste like anything.

[Der Blaue Engel]

9. It's not supposed to taste like anything...which is why bottled (to me) tastes better

Tap water usually tastes like something to me. I admit it may all be in my head. I'm trying to get used to using a filter now and ignore it when my brain insists it tastes funny. I've found it tastes less funny if I funnel it into an empty water bottle. :rofl:

[cbayer]

10. Hah! We are such slaves to our brains.

I use a Brita filter system and i'm happy with that. But when people come to visit, they are often surprised that i don't have bottled water and go buy some.

And there is a whole generation that has been brought up to believe that tap water is bad.

Marketing. What a powerful force.

[geiger]

6. Here are some other costs associated with bottled water:

municipalities across The United States at least pay big money to ensure the production of safe tap water, which means this is a taxpayer investment and also a safety issue.

One of the campaigns I have worked on was to pass a levy to support the upgrade of a local water plant. In Ohio, this small community was required to have a Level IV plant, because of the small size of the river into which effluent poured. Level IV, at that time at least, had to meet the most strict of EPA requirements. This was a generous community, one that appreciates the facts and a respectful request for a "yes" vote.

We passed the levy by an overwhelming majority, but....

Meanwhile the bottled water industry was intensely marketing to a new generation of water drinkers, without having to adhere to the requirements to which public entities have to remain in compliance. And for which the taxpayers are paying; at worst, in the face of heavy fines for noncompliance.

My point: we are all already paying for safe water. Why are we buying untested water in containers that pollute the environment, to boot.

[Karenina]

8. Ignorance? Stupidity?

:shrug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

23. Yes. Exactly.

There is no guarantee that the bottled water suppliers are providing water that meets the safety criteria used by your town.

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. Finally bought a Brita

It was a major mental hurdle for me. I'm still having trouble getting myself to drink it without imagining that it tastes funny, but it sure is nice not to have all of those bottles piling up every week, or having to take the car down the block to buy a case because it's too heavy to carry.

Although I still buy sparkling water...I wonder if I should give it up. x(

[Beaverhausen]

11. Here's why I won't drink the tap water in my area

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb4/html/water_qty/chromium_S1.html

[tinrobot]

13. Then filter it...

Still no reason to drink bottled water.

[seabeyond]

20. i dont drink tap either, but.... found many different ways to not use bottle, cause was an obvious

BUT.... the reason i am being pissy with you is cause there are certain no no's we attack with relish, reducing a person to less than human, UNTIL.... it is one of "our" issues then there are all kinds of justification

i at least want consistency

[lumberjack_jeff]

24. So which government agency tests the water in your bottle for hexavalent chromium?

[wtmusic]

35. Hey neighbor...aren't you patriotic?

You act like Lockheed had no right to turn the SFV into a toxic dump then move to Georgia! And the City of Burbank had no right to take their superfund Skunk Works cleanup site, pave over it, and build a shopping center on top of that!

[NC_Nurse]

12. I put a filter on my kitchen sink.

No more bottled water. :-)

[wtmusic]

25. Was it the kind that goes on the faucet?

I had my water tested using the PUR filter and from a source purity of 295 ppm it only came down to 251 ppm. They have a carbon filter which is effective at removing chlorine, so the water tastes and smells better. But apparently heavier minerals and organic compounds, including toxic ones, slip right through. I ended up buying a reverse-osmosis unit.

[NC_Nurse]

26. Yeah. Maybe I should do that. How much will that cost?

[wtmusic]

31. Not cheap

At least $400, but changing the filters once a year ($50) and you'll have all the pure water you can drink, boil pasta in, etc. Very happy with ours -- more info at post #21 above.

[BreweryYardRat]

14. A lot of local tap water in South-Central Florida tastes disgusting.

There's a reason Zephyrhills is so popular -- it's some of the only water in this part of the state that isn't vile.

Even filtering doesn't always get rid of the taste -- you filter it in Sarasota, it'll taste OK. Filter it in St. Pete, and it still has a chemical tang. And Tampa tap water (up here by the university, at least) is so disgusting I don't think filtering could do anything for it.

[AndyTiedye]

15. They Are Assuming You Throw the Bottle Away Most of the Time

[provis99]

16. two litres of water to produce a single litre of water

And then charge oodles of money for something you could have gotten for free. The wonders of free enterprise...

[MediaBabe]

18. You want to solve part of the the problem? Bottle deposit.

Get a ten or fifteen cent deposit on those plastic water bottles and you'll see about a 95% recycling rate. In addition consumption will actually go down. Some of the people will think twice before purchasing.

[bluesmail]

19. Toilet to tap anyone?

[gollygee]

22. I have 5-gallon jugs that I refill at a filtering place

I can't stand the taste of the water here. But I refill these big jugs of water and use a ceramic crock on a stand with a spigot.

Like this:

[Mythsaje]

29. The other side of this, of course,

is that when people are out and about, buying a bottle of water to drink is no different, ecologically speaking, than buying a bottle of pop. But it IS healthier. What is it about drinking bottled water that sends some folks into a frenzy, as if it's the worst possible thing a person can do? If I'm at work or out running errands or on a road trip, I'll buy bottled water--generally the flavored kind, or the flavored, vitamin-enriched kind, because it's better for ME than drinking pop.

The issue with the damn things ending up in landfills could easily be remedied, or at least resolved to some extent, by charging a 5 to 10 cent deposit on each bottle.

[Lorien]

37. I just carry a Sigg bottle at all times

I worry about the toxins from the plastic leeching into the water if it's stored too long, plus I like the taste of the water from my Pur filter better than most bottled water. And I don't have much in the way of excess cash to spend on bottled drinks-so I just refill at a drinking fountain if I'm out.

[El Pinko]

33. Bottled water is worse than filtered tap in every way.

It costs a lot more, it's unregulated and unchecked, while tap is strictly regulated and checked for safety. It often comes from wells, depleting and fouling groundwater reserves, and it produces mountains of plastic trash.

I've been using filtered for years and it's every bit as good as any bottled, and a lot cheaper and easier on the environment.

There should be a MASSIVE tax on those damn plastic bottles. At least the glass bottles could be washed and reused - and you got your deposit money back!