Bottled Water

The Story of Bottled Water

History of bottled water Industry

The bottled water industry grew out of bottled beverage companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestlé who wanted to diversify their products. Water is such a valuable resource that it has been referred to as 'liquid gold'. Since the 1970s, bottled beverage companies in the United States have taken advantage of this 'liquid gold' to increase profits by popularizing bottled water. However, it was difficult at first to sell bottles of water. Almost everyone drank their public, tap water and there was not enough incentive or demand to pay more for a bottle of water than turning on the faucet. Annie Leonard, an activist for sustainability, explains that the bottled beverage companies manufactured demand in order to scare, seduce, and mislead consumers to believe that tap water was not as clean, tasty, or desirable as bottled water. The industries that manufactured this demand were very effective since advertising and marketing for bottled water is relatively low, costing only $30 million in 2009 compared to $152 million for milk, $1 billion for beer, and $477 million for soft drinks (1). The low cost of advertising demonstrates that this industry is very consumer-driven. The bottled water industry is globally worth over $400 billion and is expanding at a rate of 7% each year (2) (3).

WATER BOTTLE USE AND COST

Bottled water costs 2000 times more than tap water and yet United States consumers buy over a half a billion bottles of water every week, enough to circle the Earth five times if the bottles were lined up end-to-end (2). Why do we pay so much for bottled water than tap water? Many people think that their tap water is not clean as bottled water, where in fact there are more regulations and health standards for public tap water. Municipal water systems must test for harmful microbial content several times a day, where are bottled water companies are only required to test once week (3). Also, many people think that tap water is not as tasty as bottled, but in blind taste tests around the United States, people more often preferred the taste of tap water (4).

Production and Consumption

Roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are produced in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year (3). The energy required to bring bottled water to market — converting the PET plastic into bottles, bottling the water, transporting and refrigerating the bottled water — means the amount of oil required equals 25% of the bottle's volume. For 250 million litres of water, that equals 50 million litres of oil — 314,465 barrels of oil. In addition to the water in bottles, twice as much water is used in the production process. Every liter sold represents three liters of water (4). Transportation costs are another huge negative externality. Due to the fact we are shipping bottled water all over the world both from the source to the bottler and from the bottler to the consumer the transportation costs are enormous both in monetary and environmental terms
Typical plastic water bottles are not meant for continual use and they often degrade and can pose serious health risks. Plastic bottles are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) because it is shatterproof and durable. However, reusing these bottles can increase harmful bacteria levels, leach toxic compounds, and break down of the plastic. Exposure to some of the compounds in plastic water bottles has been linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease in humans (5). We need to “protect our wallets, our health, and our planets”- Annie Leonard.

Example Diagram of the Hazards of the Bottled Water Industry in South Africa:

Alternatives to Plastic Water bottles

When disposed, 20% of plastic water bottles are recycled and 80% end up in landfills (2). However, some companies have started to use biodegradable plastic as an alternative to PET. Although this sounds like a positive development, if these are recycled with the typical PET bottles, they can actually degrade the quality of the recycled plastic. Also if they are thrown away they will not be under the proper conditions to biodegrade. Consumers are becoming more aware of the negative externalities and demanding change. The corporations are responding by creating bottles using less plastic. However, the best option seems to be switching over to bottles that are intended to be reused.

From left to right:

Biota Water uses PLA biodegrable plastic
Native Water uses ENSO biodegrable plastic
The best option for consumers is to switch to bottles that are made to be reused

Campaigns to Eliminate Bottled Water

Some national organizations and college student groups have started campaigns like “Think Outisde the Bottle” that promotes the use of public and tap water over bottled water. Since 2006, this campaign has urged 27 college campuses cut spending on bottled water, and 6 states begin to phase out purchasing bottled water with taxpayer dollars. They also promote the use of safe, reusable BPA-free water bottles that can be filled with tap water.

Bottled Water Industry Debate

There are three major counter-arguments that support the bottled water industry. The first is when people do not have access to clean tap water, bottled water saves lives. After natural disasters and in emergency relief situations, bottled water can save lives when the drinking water infrastructure is compromised. After Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the bottled water companies came to the rescue supplying crucial drinking water. Does the important role of bottled water during catastrophic events outweigh and justify the waste and pollution generated by the industry? Are there other alternatives to bottled water during these crises or could the industry decrease in size and operate on an emergency, as-needed basis? The second argument promoting bottled water is that it creates jobs. In 2011, close to 500,000 Americans were employed directly and indirectly by the bottled water industry, generating $27 billion in wages and benefits (6). However, if consumers “took back the tap” perhaps jobs would be created in the public water systems. The third argument is that public water fountains are not always available and if there are bottled water bans, consumers will resort to less healthy sugary drinks to quench their thirst. Furthermore, critics of bottled water bans argue that even if someone has a safe reusable bottle, they will forget to bring it with them. Weighing the pros and cons of the bottled water industry highlights the economic concept, willingness to accept and willingness to pay. Are consumers willing to accept the environmental degradation and health risks of these plastic bottles in our ecosystem if the industry provides so many jobs and creates revenue? Are we willing to pay for bottled water even though it is 2000 times more expensive than our tap water? Are you willing to stand up for tap water?