Environmental Issues In Bottled Water

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.

The main issue with bottled water is the effect it has on the environment. Plastic bottles are drastically increasing the size of landfills and can take up to five hundred years to decompose. At the rate plastic

Many of us mindlessly drink bottled water each day, not thinking about the greater impact of that action. However, whether we know it or not, every drink affects the economy, the environment, and much, much more. Bottled water can be found at just about every supermarket in the U.S., and for good reason. It is the most popular drink in the world, surpassing even soda, and it boosts the economy by $21.3 billion each year. (Fottrell, 22 Sept. 2017) Bottled water companies have created jobs and assisted in rebuilding infrastructure, and they have donated water after natural disasters. However, along with the good created by bottled water, it presents significant environmental challenges. The industry uses 1.5 million tons of plastic each year to package water, thereby releasing carbon emissions into the air. Also, despite the perception that bottled water is healthier than tap water, according to the World Wildlife Fund, it may not be any safer than tap water. (Schriever, 30 Aug. 2013) For these reasons, among others, the viability of the bottled water industry has been questioned, and solutions that allow for the positive economic and ethical effects of bottled water, but negate the negative environmental and ethical effects, are being called for. However, in order for the general public to objectively evaluate solutions to this major issue, it is imperative that they understand the facts concerning the rise of bottled water and the specific environmental impacts of its

Water is essential to life, scientific fact, not debatable (Tracy). More than half of all Americans drink bottled water; about a third of the public consumes it regularly (Olsen). Many drink or buy bottled water simply because they believe it is of better quality, cleaner, and better tasting. On the contrary, several individuals do not know the cons of drinking bottled water. Today, there are many misconceptions and myths about bottled water. Many people are uneducated about what goes into our bottles and how it not only affects us but also our environment. In the article “The New Oil” by Jeneen Interlandi and Ryan Tracy they discuss the issues that have to do with water and the privatization of it. They believe there is a crisis and something has to be done. Due to the cost, pollution, shortage, and health issues, bottled water should be outlawed. Water should not be controlled by water bottle companies and should not be allowed to be sold in plastic bottles.

I have always found it sort of curious when I see people buying bottled water. My grandfather told me that when he was a boy they drank water from the hose and it was free. I know growing up our household certainly didn’t bother with things like that, so facet water is what we got as well. The costs of groceries these days is expensive, spending extra money on water always seemed like such a waste to me. Now, that being said, some people live in areas where the water isn’t very clean, and buying bottled water is much safer than drinking the city’s water. Also, bottled water has become more popular because it is paired as a service; Bottled water is easy to grab on the go. It takes more time to find a water bottle, with a lid, and fill it up than to grab an already bottled water.

Op-ed New York Times contributor Tom Standage 's article“Bad to the Last Drop” has stated that people spend too much money on buying bottled water. What they don 't know is the difference between bottled and tap water. People buy bottled water because they think it 's safer to drink. What they don’t know is that bottled water is bad for the environment. Bottled water manufacturers begin by putting the water into plastic bottles which then is shipped from one part of the world to another and then kept refrigerated before they sell it. Not only that, but people around the world are lacking safe drinkable water and are dying of water-borne diseases. Bottled water is a problem and people should stop spending money on such an unnecessary product. Instead, they should give that money to water charities. Standage effectively argues that bottled water is not good for the environment nor for the people.

According to the article “cision” “Nestle Waters North America Donates more than 1 million bottles of water to hurricane Harvey Relief.” That was only a portion of how much bottled water was donated to hurricane harvey survivors and bottled water isn’t just for natural disaster survivors. So the next time you think of getting rid of bottled water think of all the people whose lives you could save. Don’t ban bottled water.

Obsession may be the word used to describe American’s outlook towards bottled water. Many people buy it without thinking twice while others are thoughtful about the product. However, the use of bottled water establishes a challenge worth a discussion. As Susan Freinkel and Peter Gleick illustrate in their books, the use of plastic bottled water has birthed several consequences, which are not only economic but also environmental.

According to the article Bottled Water vs. Tap Water by Jackie Dana, “It’s estimated that people spend $100 billion a year on bottled water, each American drinks 21 gallons per year, almost 2 gallons per month!” We see them everywhere but it is where we see them that is damaging to the environment, for instance, our streets, oceans, and not properly thrown out. These plastic bottles have become unneeded waste starting a global problem. There are better alternatives for carrying our everyday water that is less expensive and less harmful. For example, stainless steel, canteens, and other nonplastic containers.

Bottled water is extremely expensive. Why pay for water when we can have it for free at our disposable through our own water supply. In 2016 Americans drank over 30 billion bottles of water spending almost 12 billion dollars (Statistic Brain, 2016). Many people complain about our water supply, some say it taste like bleach, others say it has a metal after taste and some say they just do not trust it. Americans are spending money on water filters and also purchasing bottled water when in reality many bottled water companies are using tap water and purifying it themselves. The Safe Drinking Water Act was implemented to assure the American people that our water is clean and safe to ingest (Environmental Protection Agency, 2016).

I watched “The Story of Bottled Water”. This video’s main goal is to persuade you not to buy bottled water. The producers of the video gave examples showing a bad light on bottled water. One example highlighted how water bottles were sitting in landfills in India and polluting the world. I agree with the fact about how it is bad that the bottles are causing pollution. At another point in the video they said that being seen drinking out of a bottle of water was getting to the same level as being seen smoking while pregnant. I disagree with that statement. I think that is very extreme and just not true. My opinion on this topic after watching the video is that the problem is not the bottles of water and their companies, it is the factories in India that are not actually recycling the bottles. That seems to be the main problem.

One of the largest issues with bottled water is that, water bottles can help contribute to the cause of many problems in the environment. It can cause pollution because many don’t recycle their water bottles. In fact, according to Jennifer Gitlitz, the research director for the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), “86% of the water bottles sold are wasted: landfilled, incinerated, or littered.” Furthermore, the CRI keeps track of how many bottles and cans go into landfills around the year and in this year only 64 million bottles and cans have be thrown into landfills. When these recyclable items go through landfills it just creates more and more pollution. Yes, we can limit this but we can never completely eliminate it unless we get rid of the bottle that is causing it. Eliminating these bottles

“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.

Have you ever had any concerns about bottled water? Do you think that bottled water consumption should be banned? Bottled water is water packed in plastic containers and sold for human consumption (Health Canada, 2013). Currently, the amount of bottled water consumed has increased considerably since many people feel it is safer drinking bottled water than tap water (Parent and Wrong, 2014). According to The Statistics Portal, the global sale of bottled water took a leap from 161, 589 to 181, 608 liters from 2009 to 2011. Only in the United States, each American citizen consumed around 32 gallons of bottled water in 2013, thus meaning an equivalent growth of 15, 94% over 2009 (The Statistics Portal, 2014). In fact, due to good portability, bottled water has been helpful in both simple and complex situations such as daily exercises and natural disasters. Even though having those few considerable advantages, bottled water still have been less beneficial; especially due to the negative impacts in the socio-economic, health and environmental fields.

Human, animals and any element live in this earth can’t live without water, but the main point how can we save it and use it in the right way. Around 65 – 70 % in this earth is sea water and with it the raining water and well water. The water is use for many factors in order to let the live work, but the problems are the using of the water for human and animals. Nowadays, there are many ways that show us how to use the water and save it in order to survive. In this day and age, it seems like bottled water is become more and more popular. It has practically become the icon for heathy beverages. There are approximately 475 bottled of water plants in the U.S., producing 600 brands of bottled of water. It estimated that one six American households use bottled of water as either the primary of water. In California alone, residents consume over 33% of the bottled water that is sold. In this module, we shall investigate the virtues of bottled water as well as its similarities and differences with the water they get from their household faucet. There are three main points issues for Tap water and Bottled water: Environment, Economics, and Public health.