Comparing Bottled Water to Filtered Water
Save money and GO GREEN!
Switching from bottled water to home water filtration is one of the fastest, easiest and most impactful steps we can take to save money and help the planet.
The facts are clear:
- Home water filtration offers better quality water than bottled.
- Home water filtration is 1/10th the cost of bottled.
- Home water filtration is far more convenient, offering "Pure water on tap."
- Home water filtration is virtually pollution free.
Over 60,000,000 plastic bottles a day are disposed of in U.S. landfills from bottled water use.
Other than the direct impact of 30 billion plastic bottles a year being disposed of in U.S. landfills alone, bottled water negatively impacts our environment in many other ways. 17 billion barrels of oil are used each year to produce the 30 billion plastic bottles, producing some 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution. It takes three times the amount of water to produce the bottle as it does to fill it. Not to mention the pollution from transporting heavy loads of bottled water all over the World.
Adding in transportation, the annual energy resources used on bottled water production and distribution comes to over 50 million barrels of oil, the equivalent to run 3 million cars for a year. And for what benefit?
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each week by bottled water companies to create the perception that bottled water comes from some magical pristine mountain spring or pure underground aquifer.
The plain truth is that most bottled water is little more than tap water in a bottle. The FDA regulations that govern the quality of bottled water only apply if it is transported across state lines, and only require it to be "as good as" tap water, not better. 60-70% of bottled water companies bottle and sell the water in the same state to avoid Federal purity standards, thus avoiding complying with basic health standards, such as those that apply to municipally treated tap water. There are no assurances or requirements that bottled water be any safer or better than tap water.
The U.S. FDA says: "Companies that promote bottled water as being safer than tap water are defrauding the American public."
In March of 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?"
- City tap water can have no confirmed E.Coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).
- City tap water, from surface water, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.
- Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens, that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems, yet bottled water companies have no such test.
- City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles); some in the industry persuaded FDA to exempt bottled water from the regulations regarding these chemicals.
- City water systems must issue annual "right to know" reports, telling consumers what is in their water. Bottlers successfully killed a "right to know" requirement for bottled water.
The reality is that people pay from $1 to $4 a gallon for the perception of higher quality, when in fact, the quality of bottled water is at best an unknown.
Home water purification is by far the most economical, most convenient and most effective way of producing high quality, healthy water...and it's the "green" solution.
Filtering out the chlorine, lead and other contaminants with a quality home water filtration system, at the point of use, just prior to consumption, is the best way to know for sure about the quality of your drinking water. It's also the most economical and the most environmentally responsible. It's the right choice.
Compare Top Rated Drinking Water Filters
*Pollution stats taken from The Environmental Defense Fund official site.