By
David on January 17th, 2007
Looking for a way to save a few bucks? Give up the bottled water.
My wife and I used to only drink bottled water back in the day; we were afraid of the municipal water supply in our area of town. However, as we became more environmentally aware, we started looking at the facts surrounding bottled water. Adding that to the extra expense of buying gallons of bottled water a week is what changed our minds on tap water. And upon investigating, we found that our water was ok, so now we have a PUR water filter on our tap and get all the clean water we want for about $15 every 3 months (the cost of a new filter). Of course, those of you who pay for your own water at your house pay more, but it is still a lot less than what bottled water would cost you. According to the NRDC, 25 to 40 percent of all bottled water comes from the tap; why pay for a product that gets delivered free or nearly free of charge right into your house? And both Aquafina from the Pepsi-Cola Company and Dasani from The Coca-Cola Company are just both from municipal water systems. It seems silly, but most of the time that bottled water you buy is filtered just like you could do at home for much cheaper. Why pay the middle man?
Aside from the money aspects of bottled water, there is the impact that all those empty plastic bottles takes on our environment. The New American Dream Organization says that making all that “plastic for our bottled water releases over 4 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per person and consumes a surprising amount of petroleum (.005 barrels, or nearly a quart of oil per person). With prices as high as $10 per gallon (factoring the high cost of smaller bottles), water can cost four times as much as gasoline.” So not only are using precious natural resources to clean and bottle the water, but then we use even more just to truck it around the country. Add this to the fact that only about 12 percent of plastic water bottles are recycled and it sounds like a scary environmental disaster taking place. What plastic bottles actually do make it to the landfill and not the recycler get burned, and dangerous gases are released into the atmosphere.
So if you are looking for a great way to both save some money and help the environment, lay off the bottled water. Get yourself a home filter and a portable reusable bottle to take with you to the gym or work and feel good that you are probably getting the same water you normally buy for just a fraction of the bottled cost.
I do realize there are some areas in this country and many more around the world that do NOT have safe drinking water. Before you switch back to your “bad” tap water, be sure to check the water reports for your area and make sure that the water has been deemed safe by your local officials. If your water contains nothing more sinister than what a faucet filter can remove, go for it and save some money.
technorati tags: bottled, water, waste, money
