Charles Fishman tells us bottled water has become the indispensable prop in our lives and our culture. Bottled water is everywhere. At company meetings, our kid’s lunch boxes, hotel rooms and now some retail establishments offer bottled water when you walk in their door. As bottled water sales continue to grow we no longer can ignore the negative unintended consequences of bottle water.
Consumption
As an advocate for water and promoter of the health benefits of water for both plants and people it is uncomfortable to say drink water, but drink it the “right” way. However, bottled water sales are growing rapidly and the negative impact on the environment is also growing. Beverage Marketing Corporation reported over the past five years alone, bottled water has increased its “share of stomach” of the overall beverage market from 14.4 percent in 2009, to 17.8 percent in 2014. With 20.9 percent, carbonated soft drinks currently holds the number one position, but not for much longer. BMC now predicts that by 2016 bottled water will be the number one packaged beverage sold in the United States. That’s more bottled water sold than Coke, Pepsi and all the other soft drinks combined. This is a big step in the right direction for the health of people but also a big step in the wrong direction for the environment.
Cost
The cost of bottled water is significantly higher than tap water. In fact, experts argue that bottled water is 2000 times more expensive than tap water. In San Diego you get about 3 gallons of tap water for a penny. San Diego is one of the more expensive markets for tap water in the United States. In 2014 Americans spent over $13 billion dollars on bottled water.
Convenience
It must be the convenience. There is no doubt about it, most of the time buying a bottle of water is much more convenient than washing and refilling a glass or reusable water bottle. The cost associated with the convenience does not seem high, unless you figure in the cost to the environment. When considering the cost to the environment you might agree it is worth it to skip the water bottle and go with a glass of water or reusable water bottle. Water is good for you so please continue to drink it. When you consider the environment you may not want to purchase bottled water as much as you have in the past. It is understandable there will be times only bottled water works for your situation. People seem to be making the inconvenient change from plastic grocery bags to reusable grocery bags, so I am hopeful for glasses or reusable water bottles. Wouldn’t it be great if next year we were talking about the sales of reusable water bottles soaring? Let’s start a trend right now. If you liked this article please subscribe to the blog at the top right hand side of this page. The first 50 people to subscribe in the next few days and send me an email (Rrestuccia@jainsusa.com) with their shipping address I will send you a Jain reusable water bottle like the one in the picture at the top of the page.