The Bottled Water Beef

A trivial, nagging matter that had been rotting under the surface of the American water consumer’s mind has, in recent weeks, splintered to the surface, causing a wide-ranging ripple effect in the news. It’s about bottled water.

Many Americans (and consumers worldwide, as well) have come to rely on bottled water as their primary source of drinking water. They’ve invested mammoth sums of coin in supplies of bottled water, mostly manufactured by large corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, but often bottled by small, exclusive shop companies. All of these manufacturers have claimed that their bottled water offers consumers a healthier, safer alternative to tap water.

Environmentalists have expressed concerns about these bottled waters. One concern was that no one was really convinced that the waters were in fact any better than most area’s tap waters. Another concern – and a dire matter, as the price of oil has gone up since 2001 – was that the production of all the plastic bottles was causing environmental problems. The bottles’ manufacturing process and post-consumer processing incur serious environmental costs. A recent New York Times article quotes a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, who states that more than 90% of the environmental impact of plastic bottles is made before the consumer even opens the bottle.

This is, in other words, a severe environmental dispute, with sizable costs, and it is not easily solved through recycling, a notoriously under-utilized process.

In addition, this summer it came to light that at least one of these very fashionable bottled waters was basically just tap water poured into plastic bottles. At this point, manufacturers are going to have to update their labeling in order to maintain consumer confidence and justify their positions in the marketplace. Soda sales are going down, which is doubtless a good sign for the health of the average person, but is the increase in bottled water sales actually benefiting anyone except the manufacturers who bottle the water? To the point: Is it helping you?

The answer is almost definitely not at all. At a fragment of the cost of bottled water, anyone can consume filtered water. If the concern is having access to water while goone (whether you’re going on a camping trip or just walking around the neighborhood) it is perfectly easy to use a reusable bottle (which you can keep clean by washing it out often) and have your own, homemade bottled water with you everywhere you go.

Some areas are even catching on to filtered tap water as the next trend. This past spring, there was much discussion of Chez Panisse, the world-famous restaurant in Berkeley, California, giving up on bottled water and turning to filtered tap water for its customers’ dining experience. The choice was made by Alice Waters and restaurant management as an act of support for sustainability, green living, and concern for the customer. The trend is moving to every part of the country. More and more people are even talking about the “snob appeal” of drinking tap water.

Every person who reaches for a glass, aluminum tumbler, or re-useable plastic bottle of filtered tap water is doing the right thing not only for himself or herself, but for the local community, and for our global community.

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