Most people drink bottled water without ever thinking of the consequences of using material that is damaging to the environment when there are perfectly eco friendly ways to purify the water you drink at home. Millions of people purchase it and after drinking it throw it into the trash without considering where the hazard waste is going. Due to this plastic bottles are damaging the world’s oceans along with lands and without action, the consequences could be devastating.
Clean tap water is not available around the world which is why bottled water is in great demand. If you live in a place where clean water is not easily accessible you need to learn about the facts before buying plastic bottle water. You need to find out the costs of production, the place it is from along with the impact it has on the environment.
Finding out all the information you can about the product will help you make an informed decision on if it is right to buy or not.
Below is vital information for you to read on the impacts of buying bottled water and what to look out for.
Water Cleanliness
Most people make the mistake of thinking that because water is in a plastic bottle it is more healthy and cleaner than from the tap. This is not the case and a lot of the time it is not as clean as tap water.
Water companies spend millions each year and promoting their product as the freest and clean water available on the market. A large number of these large companies simply use tap water to fill up their plastic bottles and then cleverly market them. The only difference between tap and bottled is the amount of money spent on marking the product.
Water Consumption In The U.S.
Water consumption in the United States is on a huge scale and each year each person consumes around 37 gallons. For the whole of the country that works out at in the region of 1.7 billion bottles half a liter in size. This is a huge waste of vital resources along with pollution. To fulfill these needs of bottled water consumption in the U.S millions of oil barrels are used each year to satisfy demand.
The bottled water process is not efficient as there is double the amount of clean water lost during the bottling process. Some companies have dreadful efficiency and it can cost up to nine times the amount of water compared to the bottle size.
Governments and environmental organizations have spent billions on trying to get people to recycle but it has not had the impact they would like. Only 1 out of every 5 people visit a recycling plant in the U.S. It means that only 20% of water bottles in circulation get recycled and the rest have a big damaging effect on the environment.
As well as the negative impact on the environment wild animals are greatly affected. They can be eaten which then causes sickness, injury or death.
Conclusion
If you want to help the environment you need to make the switch from bottled water. If you live in an area that has access to clean tap water use this instead as there is very little difference between the two. You can also use water filters which a lids or straws to make sure you get the cleanest water.