By Brittany Russell |
In terms of landfill growth and dollars being spent toward bottled water by consumers, one might ask: how big is my footprint? Eight out of ten plastic water bottles become landfill waste (creating 2 million tons of trash), and it can take 700 years before they only begin to decompose.
Bottled water has sustained its position as a booming billion-dollar industry in the U.S. As early as 1767, the waters of Jackson’s Spa in Boston were bottled and sold to satisfy a rapidly growing demand. About 1800, the waters of a mineral spring near Albany,
New York, were bottled commercially, and in 1820, the first Saratoga Springs bottled water was sold. With more than 100 bottled water brands sold in the U.S., the bombardment of options grows, and we continue to buy, buy, buy.
In 2007, the U.S. consumed 8.823 million gallons of bottled water, making us the world’s top consumers. The top ten best-selling brands last year were: Desani (Coca Cola Company – $1.6 billion); Aquafina (PepsiCo – $1.5 billion); Poland Spring (Nestle Waters – $878 million); Arrowhead (Nestle Waters – $585 million); Nestle Pure Life (Nestle Waters – $545 million); Crystal Geyser (Crystal Geyser Water Company – $529 million); Deer Park (Nestle Waters – $499 million); Ozarka (Nestle Waters – $352 million); Ice Mountain (Nestle Waters – $292 million); Zephyrhills (Nestle Waters – $271 million). Other major brands include Déjà Blue at number 12, Fiji at number 14, Evian at number 16 and Glacier Waters at number 19.
As we pay between one and four dollars for a bottle of water, one might wonder where the water comes from. It is estimated that about 25 percent of the bottled waters consumed in the U.S. come from municipal water supplies. Most go through significant processing such as reverse osmosis, deionization, activated carbon filtration and other treatments.
Read the label carefully. If it is packaged as “purified” or “drinking water,” chances are it came from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it must state on the label that the water comes from a municipal source. Some included on the best-sellers list are described below:
Desani: Derived from a municipal source and undergoes a reverse-osmosis-based purification process. However, Desani adds a blend of minerals after the purification process.
Aquafina: Derived from a municipal source and goes through a purification process that uses charcoal filtration, reverse-osmosis, ozonination and other elements. During purification, virtually all of the natural minerals are removed from the water.
Arrowhead: The original source, to which this brand owes its name, is high in the San Bernardino Mountain – a natural rock formation in the shape of an arrowhead points to the Arrowhead Hot Springs.
Evian: From a source in the northern French Alps. The water is collected from an aquifer that is fed by snowmelt and rainfall. Other than filtration through the ground’s sand and clay, no other purifying process is used to produce this bottled water.
Wholesale dollar sales for bottled water in the U.S. exceeded $11.55 billion in 2007 (a 6.4 percent increase from $10.85 billion in 2006). The Beverage Marketing Corporation anticipates further growth in consumption, a 6.7 percent increase to 9.418 million gallons this year.
With so many campaigns today – “Refill not Landfill” and “Filter for Good” – reaching out to consumers to use other sources of drinking water, it is amazing how the bottled water industry grows steadily each year. We may, then, begin to wonder why do we continue to buy water-filled plastic bottles.
Here are some tips to help you cut down on plastic bottle usage:
• Stop buying plastic water bottles!
• Check into a toxic-free sports bottle, aluminum bottle, or glass bottle. There are a substantial variety of sport bottles made from different materials that can withstand all your hydration needs. Keep refilling those.
• Purchase a jug with a filter to keep in your refrigerator. Filters that attach to your kitchen faucet are also available.
• Look for your nearest water fill-up station.
• Reuse and Refill!
References:
1. www.finewaters.com/Bottled_Water/Index.asp
2. www.myspringwater.com/SpringWaterInformation/LeadingWaterBrands.aspx
3. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5467759/
4. www.flex-news-food.com/pages/16536/USA/Water/dasani-aquafina-nestle-water-brands-strengthen-us-bottled-water-market-leadership-2007.html
5. www.foodsafety.gov/~lrd/bot-h2o.html
6. http://earth911.org/recycling/plastic-bottle-recycling/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/
For more info, contact MillerWater at (775) 673-2152 or info@millerwater.com
Follow Us