Why You Drink Bottled Water

Posted by carrie_roll

Are you one of the people who actually thinks you drink bottled water because it tastes better?
In 1998-2000, lots of information came out (primarily in studies commissioned by large soda manufacturers) which basically said that tap water was bad for you, while bottled water was good for you.
While there is some truth to the fact that unfiltered tap water may cause birth defects (depending on where you live), there are no guarantees that bottled water is any better for you, since there are really no regulations about what can be used in bottled water.
(Coca-Cola even admitted that Dasani was purified tap water. BBC Article)
But, if you still think that you drink bottled water because it’s inherently somehow “better”, you might be surprised at what some companies have spent (some of them millions) to plant into your brain both subliminally and overtly that you should be drinking bottled water.
Which is why this parody is so appropriate.

Earth911 has some great facts about water bottles:
- Americans buy an estimated 28 billion plastic water bottles every year. Nearly eight out of every 10 bottles will end up in a landfill.
- It is estimated that the production of plastics accounts for four percent of the U.S.’s energy consumption.
- In 2006, it took more than 17 million barrels of oil (excluding the oil used in transporting the plastic) to produce plastic bottles.
- The manufacturing process of creating bottled water created more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. It also takes more than three liters of water to create one liter of bottled water.
- There is a large amount of energy needed to fill plastic bottles with water, transport them to the store, keep them cool and dispose of them. It is estimated that the total amount of energy used to bottle water is equivalent of filling a bottle a quarter full of oil.
- The amount of oil used to produce plastic water bottles in America is enough to fuel about 100,000 cars for a year.
- Only 13 percent of water bottles are recycled.
- About 80 percent of all municipal solid waste ends up in a landfill, while 10 percent is incinerated and only 10 percent is recycled. Because about less than one percent of all plastics is recycled, almost all plastics are incinerated or end up in a landfill.
- Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60 watt light bulb for up to six hours.
WikiHow has a great Howto to learn more about recycling plastic bottles.

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