After taking a course on corporate social responsibility and sustainability this semester, I am now filled to the brim with all sorts of knowledge about our Earth and what we, as consumers, can do to help save it. Something that really stuck with me was how many plastic water bottles we consume on a daily basis.
I was definitely one of those water snobs that would never drink tap water. I only drank bottled water and was very set in my ways about it. I would rather be thirsty than consume tap water.
Wow did this class change my mind about that.
Here are five reasons you should NOT consume bottled water:
1. It's probably just tap water, anyways.
Most bottled water companies do not have any specification purification standards, which means, in most cases, you usually are just drinking bottled tap water. It has actually been shown that approximately 40 percent of bottled water comes from the city and municipal water reserves.
2. 50 billion.
Every year Americans use about 50 billion plastic water bottles. On average we only recycle about 23%, meaning 38 million water bottles are wasted every year. This is completely unsustainable. Plastic water bottles are filling our landfills, our oceans, and our water supply. Our Earth can't take much more of this pollution.
3. 190,000 homes.
The energy that is wasted in creating and distributing bottled water is enough to power 190,000 homes. Think of all the people in poverty that could be helped by the sort of resources the bottled water manufacturing wastes.
4. Human rights.
Peter Brabeck, current Chairman and former CEO of Nestle, has said that water is not a human right and that he supports its privatization. Privatization, for those wondering, means that there is a right to buy or sell something to the highest bidder. This means that while California was in a serious drought and covered in wildfires, Nestle had no problem continuously pumping water out of those neighborhoods.
5. Cost alone.
Americans spend about $16 billion a year on bottled water. A reusable water bottle runs about $15-20. I just cannot justify spending money weekly on plastic water bottles when I can simply buy a reusable water bottle one time and never have to worry about it again.
Overall, despite what your reasoning is for drinking bottled water, one should really do some more research to make sure that what you are supporting is actually worth supporting. With just a little digging, many of the companies I thought were solid actually made decisions that were mind-boggling.
Spend the $15 and invest in a good reusable water bottle, the Earth will thank you for it.
