Water Tapped

Bottled Water: The Height of Stupidity

Bottled water is a joke, one of the biggest consumer and taxpayer ripoffs ever.

AlterNet:

Not only do society and the environment pay an unfair price for this consumer hoax, but consumers are being hoodwinked. They are paying from 300 to 3,000 times more than the cost of tap water without any benefit.

An estimate by a University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall, who took a picture of a grocery store skid of bottled water and calculated the extent of the ripoff, found the stack of bottles:

Contains 24,192 bottles, each containing 500 ml of water, a total of 12,096 liters of water, in 314.5 kg of plastic

Purchase price of the $4.99 per 24-bottle pack is $0.42 per liter for a total retail value of $5,029.92

To purchase the same volume of water in bulk through Toronto's domestic water supply would cost $16.93

The scam

The water is usually not superior to "city" water or tap water, and is merely a big branding hoax by soda makers. In some cases, this "designer" water is drawn from tap water and labeled for suckers to buy as though it is a superior product.

Dasani in Britain was caught doing this. There are not regulations or proper labeling requirements governing bottled water as there is involving tap water. Some water may be contaminated. [snip]

There are indications that the plastic may contain harmful carcinogens.

Bottles of water are mini gas guzzlers

One expert estimated that the amount of petroleum -- used to make the bottles, transport, refrigerate, collect and bury them -- would fill one-third of each bottle.

These plastic bottles are creating landfill problems worldwide, and are washing up on beautiful beaches around the planet.

Related:

Bottled Water's Shocking Impacts and the Growing Opposition

Here are two stories that show the huge impacts of bottled water and the pressure the industry is receiving lately from consumers and officials.

AlterNet:

Editor's Note: We've been following the rising grassroots movement against the bottled water industry. And it looks like the hard work is paying off. According to one group working on the issue, "In May, Nestle reported that its bottled water profits had dropped, acknowledging 'criticism of bottled water' as a factor in decreased sales.

Also related:

Nestle Targets Aquifers and Springs in New England for Bottled Water

AlterNet:

Leaders in government, business, religious, and spiritual movements across America are increasingly rejecting bottled water because of its indefensible environmental costs. It is time that this state also calls a halt to the aggressive intrusions of the bottled water industry into the vulnerable water sources that supply small-town homes, farms, and public conservation lands.