Still Avoiding Bottled Water
Posted by Chad Norman July 13th, 2007 .It’s been 2.5 months now since I pledged to have a bottled water-free summer, and I have to tell you it’s been pretty easy so far. If I travel with my canteen-style water bottle, I never have a need to buy one. I just fill it up at a sink or drinking fountain, and I’m on my way. I guess this works because I’m not afraid of tap water…nobody should be.
The Post & Courier has a great article on bottled water use in the Lowcountry (thanks to GHeath for pointing this out - I’m out of town right now!) I was very pleased to see an issue like this get front page attention, and Bo Petersen peppered it with some great local statistics:
- 571 tons of drink bottles were recycled last year in Charleston County
- That is 35% of all recycled waste
- Earth Fare sells bottled water like crazy, and the store director hadn’t heard anything negative (what a $hock)
Anyhoo, check out that article - lots of great stuff. More importantly, really really really really try to stop buying bottled water. Since only 1 out of 6 bottles gets recycled, I hope people will take a stance of reduction before reuse or recycling. Bottled water is the perfect symbol of our apathy towards the environment and our willingness to choose convenience over thoughtfulness - we need to make the right choice.
Learn More:
The true cost of bottled water
Which bottled water has a bigger carbon footprint?
High-end restaurants now offering tap water
Americans spend more on bottled water than movie tickets
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Unless you live in some back-woods heavy mineral ladened area, tap water should be fine. Besides, depending on the bottling company, you may be paying for slightly purified tap water any way.
Someone told me that the Mount Pleasant tap water is already filtered via reverse osmosis…can anyone confirm that? Apparently it was not potable in the past, and residents had to go to water stations to pick up drinking water…they allegedly fixed this by added reverse osmosis filtration.
And yes, almost all bottled water is tap/ground water put through a carbon filter. We’re animals, and our bodies can handle the tap water. You should see what my cats drink outside…yikes.