Bottled Water Consumption Should Be Banned

Bottled water has become a controversial topic as of late. There are always two sides to every argument, some think that bottled water is beneficial to society, whereas some people think that it is detrimental to society as a whole. Bottled water is detrimental to society because it costs the country an abundance of money. It is also harmful to society because it is damaging to the environment. A lack of sanitation in bottled water has also been connected to illnesses among people who drink it. Bottled water is in no way shape or form worth the price that one will spend financially, nor is it worth the gamble of becoming sick from all the harsh chemicals that come from the bottle itself.

Seventy percent of the human body is comprised of water. This makes drinking water quality vital. The EPA estimates the average adult consumes 1.2 liters daily or 115 gallons of community (tap) water daily while the average consumption of bottled water per capita in the U.S. is in excess of 30.8 gallons per year and is expected to continue to increase according to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Beverage Marketing Association’s 2013 report. Bottled water costs anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than the average cost of tap, but people’s perception that bottled water is purer, safer or healthier is driven, in part, by strong bottled water marketing campaigns that focus on news reports about crises that involve municipal water supplies. (NRDC, “Bottled Water Pure Drink or Pure Hype”) The sources for both tap and bottled waters as well as additives to either enrich or neutralize contents of water determine the mineral and chemical composition of drinking water. Is bottled water really any purer or healthier than local tap water?

In fact 22% of test water bottle brands had chemical contaminants higher than the state limit (ABC, 1). So why do Americans think bottled water is so great? Maybe it’s because of how much companies advertise the product, advertising expenses for bottled water totaled $61 million in 2012 ("International Bottled Water Association" 1). Whatever the reason may be, bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the U.S.A., and more and more bottles of water are being produced and distributed this very second.

Another way bottled water is the way to go is because it helps aid in healthy choices. In the article, “Grab the Bottle”, it states that “bottled water has helped consumers choose to drink more water because it presents it in a convenient way (Giroux). In many cases, consumers buy more objects that appeal to the eyes. Bottled water comes in different sizes and shapes. What is trending in society, the public wants automatically. In the article, “Comment-Soft Drinks and Water- The Future of Bottled Water”, he told that “attractive packages alone can make us feel that what we are drinking is beneficial” (Rowlands). Trendy shapes, sizes, and colors are what the public is drawn to. If a consumer sees a unique water bottle in the store, he or she will buy that because it’s trendy and popular in society.

One of the biggest harms to the world is pollution caused by people. Most of the plastic materials used by people are left to pollute. Bottled water is one of the biggest plastic materials produced. Some people say that bottled water is safer, convenient, and provide jobs to workers in many ways. The reasons for buying bottled water differ. Some people buy bottled water because they don’t like the taste or smell of tap water, while others on the other hand buy it because of health concerns with water contamination. Pollution is one of the biggest problems hurting the environment today, and water bottles that are thrown out after each one-time use, contribute greatly to its increasing buildup. Bottled water is not only expensive to us, but also to the environment. Bottled water is hurting the economy, harming human lives, and damaging the environment.

Many of people have not realized that the creation of bottled water affects our environment. The production of water bottles requires a large amount of water plus the water that is needed to fill the bottle. Considering there is a shortage of water in several places, water should be better handled and not wasted on plastic bottle making. Of the eighty million single serve bottles of water consumed daily, thirty million ends up in landfills (Soechtig, 2009 qtd. in “Bottled Water: The Risks to Our Health, Our

Do you enjoy that taste of pure, bottled water after a long, hot, sweaty day? Sure, everyone turns to bottled water when they are clenching of thirst and need to get water conveniently. An average American drinks around 31 gallons of bottled water each year. Without a doubt, bottle water is convenient. But have you ever thought about what happens after you throw it away, or where the water comes from? Bottled water needs to be limited, or even banned from schools.

In 2004, Americans, on average, drank 24 gallons of bottled water, making it second only to carbonated soft drinks in popularity (Standage). In the article “Plastic Water Bottles Causing Flood or Harm to the Environment,” the Earth Policy Institute factors the energy used to pump, process, transport, and refrigerate bottled water as over 50 million barrels of oil every year (Schriever). It’s absurd that so many resources are used to make plastic bottles which are not necessary at all. Bottled water does allow us to drink water out of it but in reality bottled water is very bad for

Consuming water is an essential part of everyday life. But where you get your water can be as important as the water itself. With today’s technological advances in water purification, and stringent standards put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency on tap water, there is no need to keep consuming water from a bottle. Not only does bottled water have a higher price tag than tap water, but it also cost oil to make the bottles, and that is using up another valuable resource. Although the debate of bottled water vs. tap water is a national issue, I believe that using tap water is the smarter choice and if I can start small by convincing my family members to stop using bottled water and instead fill up reusable bottles with tap water, I

Nearly 30 years ago a North American surge began. It all started when North Americans lost faith in their government’s ability to provide its citizens with safe and reliable means of drinking water. This was a tragic incident for the environment as well as the world’s citizens. While thousands of North Americans desire for bottle water increased, this gave corporations the opportunity to swoop in and save the day, and of course make a profit. This dawned the era of bottled water. Corporations began selling pre bottled “safe” water for the public to drink. People then began to get hooked on the convenience of bottled water, and lost faith in their government’s ability to provide drinking water. Bottled water then became ingrained within the

“One of the biggest challenges facing the bottled water industry is how to respond to the environmental claims levelled against it” (Grocer). Every time someone throws a bottle away, they have taken up more space in a landfill for the next four hundred fifty to one thousand years. Besides the long decomposition rate, water bottles are the cause of several more environmental issues. Overfilling landfills, health hazards caused by refilling, and the economic stresses due to the constant and inconvenient repurchasing are just a few of the negatives water bottles have on us. These plastic pollutants are doing more harm to both the environment and their users than good.

Society continues to debate whether the benefits of bottled water outweigh the cons or vice versa. Many people are in favor of bottled water because of the convenience and availability. On the other hand, several people are opposed to bottled water because of the detrimental effects on the environment. In different facilities worldwide, organizations have performed several studies in both points of view to determine whether or not the benefits of bottled water outweigh the cons or vice versa. As a result of the various studies, the benefits of bottled water do not outweigh the cons.

With new concerns over artificial sweeteners, consumers are opting for more water. While more water is the current trend, because of media attacks on the bottle water industry, more people are beginning to second guess if it matter at all. A National Geographic, is a magazine of the National Geographic Society, wrote an article on the negative impact of consumers consuming too much bottled water in an article (Karlstrom and Dell 'Amore 2010). The article addressed issues such as, the impact transporting water has on our environment due to fossil fuel use. Also, because some water is pumped from underground, it impacts the natural water sources more than tap water. This article also addressed more bottled water was sold for drinking than milk, coffee, and juice. Cities such as San Francisco stopped purchasing bottle for city consumption, according to the article. This was confirmed by www. msnbc.com.

In contemporary society, bottled water consumption has become more attractive and popular. While in 2009 were only sold 161,589 million liters of bottled water, in 2011 approximately 181.61 million liters were sold all over the world (The Statistics Portal, 2014). In this context, attributing that significant growth of bottled water commercialization is consequence of a successful marketing should

Have you ever noticed the terrible taste of tap water before? San Francisco has recently passed a law banning the sale of plastic water bottles. Why was this careless mistake made? The sale of water bottles on Escondido city property should not be banned due to state of emergency, traveling and convenience purposes, and health benefits.