The documentary, The Story of Bottled Water, was an eye-opener for me and changed the way I look at Bottled Water and the companies that produce them and how it not only affects our environment, but our pockets as well.In the past, whenever I saw bottled water in the store, I never really thought (or cared) about the price we paid for it. I mean, it's bottled water from the mountains, so it must be pure and fresh - the picture on the bottle sure is convincing.
Can you imagine if the label had a picture of the landfill in India? Or the waste of oil to produce the bottle or even better a warning of the dangerous and toxic chemicals used to produce the bottle? Would you still buy it?Here are some frightening facts about bottled water:Up to 40 percent of bottled water that you buy in the store or vending machine is just filtered tap water! So you're paying a premium price just for this benefit from the manufacturer to the distributor to the store or vending machine. In other words, if you're worried about what's inside your tap water; then just buy a filter - I use Brita and I save a lot of money. I also use a stainless steel bottle to carry my water.
Stainless steel does not have harsh chemicals and does not contain Bisphenol A (BPA) which is another scare with plastic bottles.Each year, according to the Pacific Institute, it takes an enormous amount of energy just to manufacture plastic bottles; in fact, manufacturing the plastic bottles in the U.S. uses enough oil and energy to fuel a million cars! Not to mention all the fuel that is wasted to transport the water bottles by plane, ship and truck within the US and globally. So Standing plastic water dispenser by drinking tap water, you are actually helping to reduce global warming and promoting a Green lifestyle.
Three-fourths of the millions and millions of plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. alone every week go to landfills or to the incinerator which releases harmful toxins in the air including some of the most damaging artificial chemicals. The landfills are such a problem that they are now dumping the bottles in landfills in India. According to the Corporate Accountability International, landfill costs of plastic bottles are ranging $70 million every year.
This is another reason to switch to tap water.Bottled water is not regulated by the government as much as tap water is. As the EPA requires continuous tests and reports of Tap water, the FDA is less stringent with Bottled water which has no reporting requirements. This alone makes tap water the better choice.If you are concerned about fluoride, chlorine or whatever in tap water, then you should consider buying a water filter that you can attach to your sink or a filter that you can attach to your Stainless steel bottle for water consumption. It is much cheaper and safer than bottled water and will not only protect the environment but will protect your health and save you money as well.