BACK TO TAP - Why Say No To Bottled Water

It's Wasteful...
- Every year, 200,000,000,000 litres of bottled water are consumed globally which generates 1,500,000 tons of plastic waste. (Source: Lighter Footstep, 2008)
- The number of plastic water bottles sent to UK landfill sites each year would fill Wembley stadium twice over. (Source: Which?, 2010)
- Plastic water bottles take 1000 years to biodegrade, and as they do, they can leach toxic chemicals into the groundwater, thus affecting our future water supplies.(Source: The Independent, 12/02/06)

It has a high carbon footprint...
- Tap water is delivered through an "energy-efficient infrastructure", whereas bottled water is often shipped halfway across the world, burning huge amounts of fossil fuels and accelerating global warming. (Source: The Earth Policy Institute, 2007)
- Britons drink three billion bottles every year and half a billion are flown or shipped from overseas. (Source: Evening Standard, 03/03/08)
- Just the transportation alone of bottled water in Britain is estimated to produce 33,200 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual energy use of 6,000 homes. (Source: Earth Policy Institute, 2006)
- According to Thames Water, a litre of mains water creates about 0.0003kg of CO2, around 600 times less than the 0.185kg generated by a litre of Volvic or the 0.172kg produced by the same volume of Evian. (Source: The Guardian, 11/08/2009)

It’s expensive...
- Bottled water costs between 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water. (Source: The Earth Policy Institute, 2006)
- Thames Water calculates that one litre of water from its taps costs approximately 0.097p. In comparison to a 75cl bottle of Evian at 75p, this makes bottled water in London 1,000 times more expensive than that from the tap. (Source: Thames Water, 2009)

It’s not healthy...
- Bottled water is associated with healthy living, however roughly 40 percent actually begins as tap water; often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefit. (Source: The Earth Policy Institute, 2006)
- The French Senate advises people who drink bottled mineral water to change brands frequently because the added minerals are helpful in small amounts but may be dangerous in higher doses. (Source: The Earth Policy Institute, 2006)
- PVC plastic, banned for use in children’s toys due to the risks it poses to young children, is used to make the bottled top liners in many water bottles. (Source: Belu, 2010)

It’s poorly regulated...
- Bottled water regulations are inadequate to assure consumers of either purity or safety. (Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, Bottled Water Report 1999)
- A four year study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that in 1000 bottles from 103 brands, about one-third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination -- including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits. (Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, 1999)
- In 2008, 7.2% of all bottled water produced in Ireland was found to breach legal or EU guidelines on ‘safe’ limits of bacteria including E.Coli. (Source: The Independent, 17/11/2008)

It’s often misleading...
- Studies carried out by the National Resources Defense Council discovered the following cases of deceptive labelling:
  - - "Spring Water" Was actually from an industrial parking lot next to a hazardous waste site.
  - - "Alasika™ - Alaska Premium Glacier Drinking Water: Pure Glacier Water From The Last Unpolluted Frontier, Bacteria Free". This water actually came from "Public Water System #111241" (Source: public water system in Juneau, Alaska)
  - - Vals Water "Known to Generations in France for its Purity and Agreeable Contribution to Health...Reputed to Help Restore Energy, Vitality, and Combat Fatigue." While the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) voluntary code prohibits health claims, some bottlers still make such claims (Source: National Resources Defense Council, Bottled Water Report, 1999)