The consumption of bottled water has increased in recent years due to the doubtful quality of tap water, convenience, and marketing campaigns. It is estimated that over 400 billion PET bottles are produced globally every year and 46% of them are used as water packaging.
Our obsession with bottled water has taken a heavy toll on the environment. Plastic production, transportation contributing to air pollution, billions of discarded bottles that end up in the ocean each year…all have a serious impact on the environment.
A new study has found that Tap water is 3,500 times better for the environment than bottled water. A plastic water bottle takes three times as much water to produce as it can hold, which is why boxed water is becoming so popular.
The research was conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) to determine bottled water’s impact in Barcelona. Researchers found that if the city’s entire population of 1.6 million were to use bottled water, it would increase to $83.9 million in resource extraction. Which is 3500 times higher cost to the environment for resources.
Researchers acknowledged that using a domestic filtration system to remove the odor of tap water and improve the taste is a good alternative.
