The Pros And Cons Of Bottled Water

Have you ever considered what is happening to all the plastic bottles you use? According to "Bottled Water: The Wrong Choice paragraph 2" it states, that when plastic bottles are made we are using more fossil fuels. By doing this we are damaging environment!

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.

Water is an important source in this world and it is a source that all of us humans need. Without water we wouldn’t be living today. Water comes in many different ways but the most common and the most talked about topic is, Bottled Water or Tap Water? There are many debates on which type of water is safer, better in taste, and what is more convenient. The question is usually what tastes better. I read in the article “is tap water as safe as bottled water?” “Tap water and bottled water are generally comparable in terms of safety. So the choice of tap or bottled is mostly a matter of personal preference.” (Zeratsky) I completely agree with this statement. Everyone has his or her own opinions.

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?

There are many impacts that bottled water has on the environment. The choice of packaging determines many impacts. The bottles, which are either plastic, aluminum, or glass, that are not recycled are thrown into landfills and buried. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86% of plastic water bottles in the United States become garbage. If water bottlers would have used 10% recycled materials in their plastic bottles in 2004, they would have saved the equivalent of 72 million gallons of gasoline. If they used 25%, they would have saved enough energy to power more than 680,000 homes for a year (Jemmott, 2008). Incinerating used bottles produces toxins such as chlorine gas and ash. Water bottles that get buried can take up to thousands of years to biodegrade. The most common type of plastic is polyethylene

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.

What happens after you throw away a water bottle? You might have seen a plastic water bottle wash down a storm drain and never thought about picking it up. Eventually, that one plastic water bottle will flow all the way into the ocean, and could have possibly killed any marine animal

That would depend on what you consider a health benefit. As far as the impurities go, the simple answer would have to be that bottled water is in fact, filtered tap water, so there would be no advantage to drinking tap water for that single reason (Hogan & Larsen). Tap water does contain a fluoride additive depending on the approved ordinance of the local water supply, which can help individuals avoid tooth decay. Because most bottled waters have been treated and distilled or de-ionized, they do not contain any amounts of fluoride unless the label specifically states that it has been

From helping the daily jogger stay hydrated during a run to that mom and family trying to stay hydrated at the amusement park, bottled water has had a lot of good to it. However do those goods outweigh the bad? In “Bottled Water: Friend or Foe?” by Christopher Castillo, Diana Goettsch, Angela Reid, and Catherine Sterling argue bottled water are our worst enemy, reasons being the bottle itself has harming chemicals within it which we are drinking, bottled water damages our environment, and lastly we are spending more on bottled water when we have the same water coming from our sinks.

The controversy of bottled water verse tap water can be argued on both sides. However, tap water is the better alternative in the long run. Some may say there is a distinct taste difference between the two, yet most can't tell. In a college classroom, a group of students completed an experiment where they tasted a variety of waters: Great Value, Zephyrhills, and tap water. Most students guessed incorrectly, not tasting a difference (Combass). Although people have concerns with tap water, it is the most convenient. Not only is tap water cheaper, it is the safest source that positively impacts our environment.

As aforementioned, there are explanations to believe that bottled water does outweigh its repercussions. Thomas J. Lauria, author of “In Defense of Bottled Water”, states, “Bottled water provides a healthy choice when tap water is not accessible” (“In Defense of Bottled Water”). In this article, Lauria states that bottled water is a topic of great interest. He goes on to discuss that in the United States, “Adults consume 450 calories a day from beverages and sixty-eight percent of those twenty years old and older are classified as overweight or obese, bottled water provides a healthy choice when tap water is not accessible, preferred, or convenient” (“In Defense of Bottled Water”). Sure, this is fact and definitely a benefit to bottled water. Lauria continues to say that if bottled water is not offered then people will be more likely to choose soda, juices, or options similar to those. He says that banning bottled water will urge people to consume unhealthy beverages because

Answer = No, tap water is obviously healthier to consume then bottled water since there are less chemicals in it vs. the bottled water. I have also thought tap water was one of the worst things you could consume since I assumed tap water was dirty. I thought tap was dirty because it doesn’t go through filters like bottled water but, I was clearly wrong

Tap water is healthier than bottled water for many reasons like how they leave the bottled

In source A it shows a comparrison from tap and bottled water. It shows how tap water is safer due to the higher filtration and purifying chemicals in the water. Tap water has chlorine while bottled water does not. Tap water also has more flouride than bottled water. Maning that tap water is safer than bottled water. Tap water also has higher safety and consumption regulations than commercial tap water. Therefore Tap water is not just safe enough to drink, but it is also safer than bottled water due to the constant regulations set by the municipal and federal government. Not only is tap water safer but it is also cheaper than bottled water.

Plastic water bottles are seen and consumed everywhere. Without knowing the deadly effects that water bottles have on the environment, consumers will keep buying them and contribute to the problem. About 17 million barrels of oil are used each year solely to make water bottles