Bottling It!

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health have calculated that if everyone in that city drank only bottled water, rather than tap water, the environmental impact would be up to 3,500 times greater (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/05/environmental-impact-of-bottled-water-up-to-3500-times-greater-than-tap-water). Bottled water is sold in plastic or glass containers. These are, not only costly to produce in terms of materials, but require energy in their manufacture. The containers also have to be labelled and transported to shops and supermarkets. The bottles, when empty, also have to be recycled or disposed of as rubbish. Advertising is another cost associated with only with bottled water. Considerable profits are made on each bottle. The results are inline with a study in the UK, revealing that bottled water is 500 times more expensive than tap water. It used to be appropriate to buy bottled water in locations, where the safety of tap water was in doubt. In recent times, however, the safety of tap water in Europe and other locations has improved. Bottled water has just been more fashionable. People would rather buy a small, branded bottle than fill (and chill?) their own container.