A recent Vital Signs Update from the Worldwatch Institute criticizes the bottled water industry for its environmental unfriendliness, calling it an "environmental loser". The main issue is the millions of tons oil-derived plastics, mostly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used to make the water bottles. Each year, about 2 million tons of PET bottles end up in USA landfills. To be fair, not all these bottles are from bottled water - some are from soft drinks, fitness drinks, etc.
Visit www.worldwatch.org/node/5063
The table from the report shows the increase in consumption of bottled water in the top 10 countries from 2000 to 2005.
Revenues from bottled water sales in the USA are about $10 billion annually. Worldwide annual revenues are about $50 billion (see my 10 January 2007 post Bad to the Last Drop? What Else? Bottled Water!).
The report noted that industrialized countries with regulated water supplies have tap water as safe, or safer, than tap water. Regulations for bottled water quality are about the same as for municipally-supplied tap water but are weaker for some microbial contaminants. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water at the federal level. The EPA, under the Safe Drinking Water Act, regulates municipally-supplied tap water.
The bottled water industry? I suspect they are crying (or laughing) all the way to the bank.
"Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink." Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Thanks for the push to finally order myself some stainles steel water bottles on eBay.
Posted by: Susan | Tuesday, 29 May 2007 at 10:46 PM