Bottled Water Myths - Use A Berkey Filter Instead

The Truth Behind Bottled Water - is it Safer and/or Cleaner?

By Darren Craddock

We all know the importance of drinking clean fresh water. Many people believe it’s best to only drink bottled water.Water covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface however only 1% of the Earth's water is available as drinking water. Unfortunately, Americans are finding that our limited supplies are often polluted with contaminants such as Asbestos, Cysts (like Cryptosporidium and Giardia), Lead, Mercury, Trihalomethanes, Turbidity, Endocrine Disrupters and Volatile Organic Chemicals.

Bottled water to the rescue?

Consumers are taking matters into their own hands which often leads to consuming bottled water. There is a widespread belief that bottled water is cleaner and safer than municipal water and in some cases it is true. Tap water is supposed clean and treated but most systems use chemicals like chlorine to make it safe to drink. Many people are not aware of the hidden environmental costs that bottle water causes, and the myths about it's cleanliness.

Quick facts about bottled water

"It's ironic that many people drink bottled water because they are afraid of tap water, but then the bottles they discard can result in more polluted water," says Pat Franklin of the Climate Action Network.

What’s Really in that bottle?

Did you know that over a quarter of the bottle water your drink is someone else’s tap water? Some estimates state that it could be closer to 40%. The labels can be misleading because the FDA let bottlers label water products "spring water" even if it comes from a pumped well and has been treated with chemicals. The Environmental Law Foundation has sued eight bottlers on the basis that they used words like "pure" to market water containing bacteria, arsenic and chlorine breakdown products.

The real source of the water is often not clear and implies that the water in the bottle comes from a pristine source when it really comes from a tap. Here is an example that the FDA sited as misleading labeling:

"Spring Water" (with a picture of a lake surrounded by mountains on the label) – This water actually came from an industrial parking lot next to a hazardous waste site.

Bottled water is only loosely regulated. The EPA, employs hundreds of staff to protect the nation's tap water systems, while the FDA doesn't even have one full-time regulator in charge of protecting bottled water. The FDA also has no official procedure for rejecting bottled water sources if one has become contaminated.

Bottled water is more of a status symbol than a health benefit

”A 2001 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study confirmed the widespread belief that consumers associate bottled water with social status and healthy living. Their perceptions trump their objectivity, because even some people who claim to have switched to bottled water "for the taste" can't tell the difference: When Good Morning Americaconducted a taste test of its studio audience, New York City tap water was chosen as the heavy favorite over the oxygenated water 02, Poland Spring and Evian.” This quote is from an article Despite the Hype, Bottled Water is Neither Cleaner nor Greener than Tap Water by Brian Howard

Note: New York City water is one of the cleanest water sources in the world, coming straight form aqueducts several hundred miles north.

The hidden costs of bottled water

Lots of energy is used in bottled water processing, where 2 gallons of water are wasted for every gallon that is processed. Then more energy is used to ship the water to its destination. Transporting bottled water consumes a lot of energy and oil – millions of barrels a year. Did you know that over 22 million tons of bottled water is transferred each year from country to country?

The World Wildlife Fund argues strongly that bottling water is a waste of money and is extremely environmentally unfriendly.

Are you aware that we use more than 1.5 million barrels of oil, to supply thirsty Americans with bottled water every year? This could generate electricity for more than 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year. We are literally drinking up oil in our quest for clean water.  AND we wonder why the prices of oil continue to climb!

Bottled water wastes water

Bottled water is often filtered. During filtration, it is estimated that two gallons of water are wasted for every single gallon that is purified. Adding insult to inury, much of the water that is transported is done so in refrigerated trucks, using even more oil and energy. Many environmental agencies have concerns about the wastefulness of this system on such a precious resource. Why wouldn't you just treat your tap water at home?

Bottled water produces TONS of pollution

The World Wildlife Foundation estimates that nearly 1.5 million tons of plastic are used in making water bottles every year. This manufacturing process is leaving an enormous manufacturing footprint that affects us all. Besides the obvious roadside pollution factor there are grave environmental risks from the process of making and disposing of plastic water bottles.

The Climate Action Network states that when some plastic bottles are incinerated along with other trash, a common practice in most areas, toxic chlorine (and potentially dioxin) is released into the air. Heavy metals are also deposited in the ash.

When these same plastics are buried in you local landfill, not only do they take up a lot of space, they can leak toxic additives like phthalates directly into your groundwater. So using bottled water can actually act to pollute your groundwater.

Very few bottles are actually recycled

The Container Recycling Institute (CRI), states that 9 out of 10 plastic water bottles end up as either garbage or litter. This amounts to a whopping 30 million water bottles a day.

Left in a landfill a plastic water bottle can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade! We hope your great grand children’s children can figure out something to use them for – because at this rate they will be swimming in them.

It’s ironic that many people are drinking bottled water in order to be healthier without really understanding the negative health effects that the bottles themselves produce.

Have a cup of oil with your water?

Using all that plastic consumes more natural resources while supplying marginally safer water. Manufacturing plastic PE bottles create nearly 100 times the toxic emissions compared to making glass water bottles. Even factoring in the extra cost of shipping – glass bottles are cheaper and cleaner in the long run.

Even the recycled bottles take energy

The Utne magazine recently had a report saying, "Despite the ubiquitous arrow symbol, only five percent of plastic waste is currently recycled in America and much of that must be fortified with huge amounts of virgin plastic." 

Only a small percent 20% -30% of plastic can be reused in the manufacturing of new water bottles and that is assuming you are able to recycle at all!

Bottled water is BIG business and BIG money

Bottling water makes a whole lot of money. The industry has exploded in the past 10 years and now most of the bottled water you drink comes from a large multinational corporation. You wouldn’t know it to look at the bottle but if you buy and drink bottled water, most likely you are drinking from water bottles by Coca Cola, Nestle or Pepsi.

The number one bottled water - Aquafina, and the number two – Dasani are the best selling brands of bottled water in the U.S. These are classified as purified water. Dasani is sold by Coca-Cola, while Aquafina is a Pepsi product. 

A U.S. News & World Report reveals, "Aquafina is municipal water from spots like Wichita, Kansas." And it continues, "Coke's Dasani (with minerals added) is taken from the taps of Queens, New York, Jacksonville, Florida, and elsewhere." 

Wow, $2 a bottle for water from Wichita – who would’ve guessed?

Bottled water could be depleting your local water supply

There are very few regulations on how much water a bottling company can take from a local area. They are also largely self regulated and only have to test for bacteria once a week (or less) May local communities are starving for jobs and therefore accept the fact that they must run the risk of loosing their aquifers to a large company for little or no compensation.

Nestlé, for its Ice Mountain brand, built a $100 million plant capable of bottling 260 million gallons of water a yearfrom an aquifer in Michigan's rural Mecosta County. Nestlé paid around $150 for permits and received substantial tax breaks. Having a job is a big price to pay for selling your communities water. Did you know that bottling companies may pump up to 500 gallons per minute, or even more, out of each well? Many wells run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Clearly, this endangers the source.  When the well runs dry where can you go to get your water and how much will it cost you then?  I don't think Coca Cola or Pepsi will offer your community any subsidies when it comes time to buy the water you will have to have after your well runs dry supplying them with water to sell!

You want safe clean water for you and your community

What is the solution to drinking only purified water during your day? Do you resort to drinking bottled water because you want your family to have good clean water that is safe? Not only may that assumption be false – it can also be expensive. Drinking bottled water means you are often paying $12 or more a gallon. A Portable water bottle filter can give you cleaner water for about .30 cents a gallon. And it is reusable so there is little environmental impact.

How do you make sure you have Clean Safe Drinking water at Home, Work, Play or while you Travel without adding to local & global pollution? You need a system that is safe, effective and doesn't contribute to the massive amount of pollution and waste that comes from the manufacturing of water bottles. Make sure that your portable water filtration system is:

• Reusable and washable container that lasts years
• Replaceable filters that have a long shelf life
• Able to filter all kinds of water sources
• Portable and convenient
• Inexpensive

A Portable water filtration has less ecological footprint and produces a fraction of the pollution

Would you like a water bottle filter that is portable, convenient and will filter out 99.99% of all bacteria and contaminants? A Berkey sport water bottle filter can save you the expense of paying for bottled water and eliminates the pollution that comes from thousands or water bottles. It produces clean filtered water whenever and where ever you go.

All you have to do to enjoy pure water is to put the water in and let the filter do the rest.Berkey water purifiers are simple to use and can be assembled with ease. They offer water that has been purified to 99.99%. That rate is higher than the any municipal or bottled waters you drink and you will not add to the ecological nightmare that plastic water bottles create!

Why would you pay $12 a gallon for a drink of clean water when you can have guaranteed filtered water for pennies all the time?

Berkey sport water bottle filters remove 99.99% harmful chemicals, microbes and contaminants giving you safe, clean drinking water. Give your family and yourself the gift of clean healthy water wherever you go.