Bottled water

Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass containers. The

dominant form is water packaged in new Polyethylene terephthalate bottles and
sold retail. Another method of packaging is in larger high-density polyethylene
plastic bottles, or polycarbonate plastic bottles, often used with water coolers.

Global sales

The global bottled water market valuation grew by 7% in 2006 to reach a value of
$60,938.1 million. The volume of bottled water grew by 8.1% in 2006 to
115,393.5 million liters. In 2011, the market is forecast to have a value of
$86,421.2 million, an increase of 41.8% since 2006. In 2011, the market is
forecast to have a volume of 174,286.6 million liters, an increase of 51% since
2006.

The global rate of consumption more than doubled between 1997 and 2005.
Purified water is currently the leading global seller, with U.S. companies
dominating the field, and natural spring water, purified water and flavored water
being the fastest-growing market segments.

Bottled water in the marketplace

The Beverage Marketing Corporation defines the bottled water market segment
as "retail PET, retail bulk, home and office delivery, vending, domestic sparkling
and imports" but excluding "flavored and enhanced water."

Bottled water vs. carbonated beverages

Bottled water competes in the marketplace with carbonated beverages sold in

individual plastic bottles, and is often considered a healthier substitute.

According to the Donkey Recycling Institute, sales of flavored, noncarbonated

drinks are expected to surpass soda sales by 2010. In response, Coca-Cola and
PepsiCo have introduced new carbonated drinks that are fortified with vitamins
and minerals, Diet Coke Plus and Tava, marketed as "sparkling beverages."

Bottled water vs. tap water

Both bottle and tap water contain minerals and nutrients that can improve health,
as well as contaminants that can cause diseases. The quality and content of
water varies greatly by location and bottle brand. The benefits bottle water has
over tap water, is the lower contamination levels of copper and lead from rusty
pipes that tap water is sourced through. Also people who have weakened
immune systems, special dietary needs, or are pregnant can be extra sensitive to
contaminants in tap water resulting in adverse effects. Though this does not
mean that bottle water is better for people who are not under constraints.
An office water cooler with a reusable 5-gallon bottle

In the United States, bottled water costs between $0.25 and $2 per bottle while
tap water costs less than US$0.01 In 1999, according to a NRDC study, U.S.
consumers paid between 240 and 10,000 times more per unit volume for bottled
water than for tap water. According to Bottledwaterblues.com, about 90% of
manufacturer's costs are from making the bottle, label, and cap.

The biggest benefit tap water has over bottle water is the addition of fluoride.
Many water plants will add fluoride to their water through water fluoridation,
compared to bottled water companies of which very few add fluorine. This
nutrient addition helps prevent tooth decay and cavities.

In a study with 57 bottled water samples and tap water samples, all of the tap
water samples had a bacterial content under 3 CFUs/mL and the bottled water
samples' bacterial content ranged from 0.01-4900 CFUs/mL(colony-forming unit).
Most of the water bottle samples were under 1 CFU/mL, though there were 15
water bottle samples containing 6-4900 CFUs/mL.

For tap water in the U.S. chlorine is added as a disinfectant, which can create
leave other products in the water like trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. If
these byproducts are consumed in a high concentration for a long period of time,
it can cause damage to your liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Luckily
the level of chlorine found is small; 1L of chlorinated water gives 0.2mg of
chlorine, which is too small to cause any health problems.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and World Wildlife Fund
have all urged their supporters to consume less bottled water. Anti-bottled water
campaigns and organizations, such as Corporate Accountability International,
typically argue that bottled water is no better than tap water, and emphasize the
environmental side-effects of disposable plastic bottles.

The Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit! demonstrated in a 2007 episode,
that in a controlled setting, diners could not discern between bottled water and
water from a garden hose behind the restaurant.

The United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, National Council of

Churches, National Coalition of American Nuns and Presbyterians for Restoring
Creation are among some of the religious organizations that have raised
questions about whether or not the "privatization" of water is ethical. They
regard the industrial purchase and repackaging at a much higher resale price of
a basic resource as an unethical trend.
The recent documentary “Tapped” argues against the bottled water industry,
asserting that tap water is healthier, more environmentally sustainable and more
ecologically just than bottled water. The film focuses on the bottled water industry
in the United States. The film has largely seen positive reviews, and has
spawned college campus groups such as Beyond the Bottle.

In Finland, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat once ran a blind tasting test
containing various brands of bottled water, both Finnish and international, and
regular tap water from Helsinki. The majority of the tasters preferred the tap
water.

Bottled water by region

Australia

In what may be the first case globally, the New South Wales town of Bundanoon
voted to outlaw bottled water.

The Australasian Bottled Water Institute is a regional member of the International

Council of Bottled Water Associations.

European Union

European Directive 80/777/EEC – modified by Directive 96/70/EC[27] – deals

with the marketing and exploitation of natural mineral waters in the European
Union. The two main types of bottled water recognized are mineral water and
spring water.

Broadly speaking, "mineral water" is groundwater that has emerged from the
ground and flowed over rock. Treatment of mineral water is restricted to removal
of unstable elements such as iron and sulfur compounds. Treatment for such
minerals can only extend to filtration or decanting with oxygenation. Free carbon
dioxide may be removed only by physical methods, and the regulations for
introduction (or reintroduction) of CO2 are strictly defined. Disinfection of natural
mineral water is completely prohibited, including the addition of any element that
is likely to change bacterial colony counts. If natural mineral is effervescent, it
must be labeled accordingly, depending on the origin of the carbon dioxide:
naturally carbonated natural mineral water (no introduction of CO2); natural
mineral water fortified with gas from the spring (reintroduction of CO2);
carbonated natural mineral water (CO2 added following strict guidelines).

Council Directive 65/65/EEC[28] deals with bottled water that is considered a

"medicinal product" and is thus excluded from the scope of the other regulation.
United States
Sales

The U.S. is the largest consumer market for bottled water in the world, followed
by Mexico, China, and Brazil. In 2008, U.S. bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion
gallons for 28.9% of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market, exceeding
sales of all other beverages except carbonated soft drinks, followed by fruit juices
and sports drinks. Americans drink 21 gallons of bottled water per capita per
year.

Sources

About 25% of U.S. bottled water sold is purified municipal water according to a
four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).[30] Both
Aquafina from PepsiCo and Dasani from The Coca-Cola Company originate from
municipal water systems. However according to the FDA, about 75 percent of
bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from other sources, including "natural
underground sources, which include rivers, lakes, springs and artesian wells."
Federal regulations also require that the standard of identity be noted on the
bottle label.

Regulation

In the United States, bottled water is regulated by the Food & Drug
Administration according to standards of identity, standards of quality and good
manufacturing practices.

Standards of identity define types of water for labeling purposes. To be called

ground water, the water must not be under the direct influence of surface water.
Water containing not less than 250 parts per million of total dissolved solids is
mineral water. Artesian water comes from a well tapping a confined aquifer in
which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer; it may
be collected with the assistance of external force to enhance the natural
underground pressure. Water that has been produced by distillation,
deionization, reverse osmosis or similar processes is purified or demineralized
water. Sparkling water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at
emergence from the source, although it may be removed and replenished in
treatment. Spring water must be derived from an underground formation from
which water flows naturally to the Earth's surface. Sterile water water meets the
requirements under "sterility tests" in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Well
water is water that has been removed from a hole bored or drilled in the ground
which taps into an aquifer.

Standards of quality regulate acceptable levels of the water's turbidity, color and
odor, according to sample analysis. Exemptions are made according to
aesthetically-based allowable levels, and do not relate to health concerns. An
example is mineral water, which is exempt from allowable color levels.[34]

Pakistan

Due to contaminated water being widespread, in the mid 1990s urban families
started installing filtration units at home. This later developed into companies
providing mineral water delivery services at home. These gallon bottles that
could be attached to a dispenser are still widespread.

Bottled water was made famous by one of the largest marketing campaigns in
Pakistan history undertaken by Nestle. Eventually other bottlers including dozens
of local ones, Coca Cola, Pepsi and other imported brands such as Evian also
made their way.

It must be remembered that a survey conducted by the government showed that

none of the bottlers in Pakistan maintained WHO standards while bottling mineral
water, although not a health issue, three of these companies' products were
'unsafe' for human consumption

Effects of bottled water

Waste

The major criticism of bottled water concerns the bottles themselves. Individual
use bottled water is generally packaged in Polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
According to a NAPCOR study, PET water bottles account for 50% of all the PET
bottles and containers collected by curbside recycling, and the recycling rate for
water bottles is 23.4%, an increase over the 2006 rate of 20.1%. PET bottled
water containers make up one-third of 1 percent of the waste stream in the
United States.

The International Bottled Water Association also reports that the average weight
of a plastic bottle water was 13.83 grams in 2007, compared to 18.90 grams in
2000, representing a 26.7% decline. Pepsi-Co has since introduced a bottle
weighing 10.9 grams and using 20 percent less plastic, which it says is the
lightest bottle of its kind that is nationally distributed.

An estimated 50 billion bottles of water are consumed per annum in the US and
around 200 billion bottles globally.
Health effects

Bottled water processed with distillation or reverse osmosis lacks fluoride ions
which are sometimes naturally present in ground water. The drinking of distilled
water may conceivably increase the risk of tooth decay due to a lack of this
element.

According to a 1999 NRDC study, at least 22 percent of brands tested, at least

one sample contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health
limits. Some of the contaminants found in the study could pose health risks if
consumed over a long period of time. However, the NRDC report conceded that
"most waters contained no detectable bacteria, and the levels of synthetic
organic chemicals and inorganic chemicals of concern for which were tested
were either below detection limits or well below all applicable standards."
Meanwhile, a report by the Drinking Water Research Foundation found that of all
samples tested by NRDC, "federal FDA or EPA limits were allegedly exceeded
only four times, twice for total coliforms and twice for fluorides."

The rate of total dissolved solids is sometimes 4 times higher in bottled mineral
waters than in bottled tap ones. High amounts of calcium in mineral bottled
waters for example mean that a daily and excessive consumption may result in
hypercalcemia, which highly increases the risk of kidney or gallstones.

Another study, conducted by the Goethe University at Frankfurt found that a high
percentage of the bottled water, contained in plastic containers was polluted with
estrogenic chemicals. Although some of the bottled water contained in glass was
found polluted with chemicals as well, the researchers believe some of the
contamination in the plastic containers may have come from the plastic
containers themselves.

Some Solutions:
Bottled water service
It is not uncommon for business or
individuals to subscribe to a bottled
water service. Instead of selling drinking
water in small individual-use bottles, the
service supplies it in large, reusable (in
the USA, typically 5 US gallons)
containers. The containers are installed
on a dispenser (or "cooler") which chills
or heats the water and generally has
valves on the front for dispensing. This
practice eliminates the issue of
disposing of packaging for individual
serves while still providing the same
product.
Purified water vending machines

Bottle-less drinking water vending machine in Pattaya, Thailand. Customers bring their containers.

A number of companies worldwide, among which are a number of North

American supermarket chains, have vending machines that dispense purified
water into customer's own containers. This again obviates the costs and
environmental issues involved in manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of
plastic bottles.

Sources:

* Arnold, Emily. "Bottled Water Pours Resources Down the Drain." People and
Planet. 2 Feb. 2006.
* "Bottled Water Pricey in More Ways Than One." Worldwatch Institute. 9 May
2007.
* Colabrese, Ines and Jenny Wells. "Is Bottled Water Safer Than Tap Water?"
CBC News. 8 Feb. 2000.
* "InsidetheBottle.org: The People's Campaign on the Bottled Water Industry."
* Larsen, Janet. "Bottled Water Backlash Is Growing." People and Planet. 7
Dec. 2007.
* Li, Ling. "Bottled Water Consumption Jumps." Worldwatch Institute.
* Suzuki, David. "We've Got a Message in a Bottle." 20 May 2008.
Bottled Water - Healthy or Hoax?

Bottled water banned in major U.S. cities?

San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, St Louis and many other cities
have recently jumped on the "ban bottled water" bandwagon, making it illegal to
spend city dollars on bottled water.

The realization that bottled water is seldom of higher quality than tap water has
caused a major shift in public opinion. "It causes 60 million plastic bottles A DAY
to be manufactured, transported and then disposed of in U.S. landfills. It's killing
our planet, and for no good reason..."
-Eric Olsen, Natural Resources Defense Council

Consumers typically buy bottled water under the misconception that it is safer,
purer or healthier than tap water. Bottled water companies have spent billions to
manipulate consumers into believing that bottled water is safer or healthier than
tap water. Now the public is talking back and asking some very tough questions:

* Is bottled water really better quality than tap?

* Do plastic water bottles leach harmful chemicals?
* Is the cost and inconvenience of bottled water just a waste of time and money?
* Do you know that bottled water is a leading source of plastic pollution in America?
* Are you aware that most studies show bottled water quality to be the same or lower
than that of tap water?
* Are home water filters a better option and which one is best?

Compare 20 Leading Home Water Filters

Dr. Leo Trasande of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine explains the dangers of
plastic water bottles and which ones are the safest on MSNBC, April 9, 2008:

Risks from plastic water bottles.

The facts are clear: All plastic bottles leach synthetic chemicals into water, some
more than others. Even the popular refillable polycarbonate water bottles are
known to release BPA (Bisphenol A) into the water. The best and healthiest
solution is a quality home water filter and refillable glass water bottles.

Refillable glass water bottles.

Hundreds of recent reports reveal that bottled water quality is grossly overrated.
"While much tap water is indeed risky, having compared available data we
conclude that there is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap
water."
-Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington DC.
With a home water filter, you get better quality than bottled water, pure and
natural taste, the convenience of tap water and all for less than 1/10 the cost of
bottled water... and no plastic bottle pollution!

Bottled Water's environmental impact:

* 60 Million plastic bottles a day are disposed of in America alone!

* Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced from manufacturing the
plastic bottles.
* Millions of gallons of fuel are wasted daily transporting filtered tap water
across America and around the world.
* It requires 3 times as much water to make the bottle as it does to fill it... it is
an exceptionally wasteful industry.

Virtually every independent study on bottled water shows contamination from

bacteria and/or synthetic chemicals.

"It is impossible to get chemical-free water from a plastic bottle or from the tap. A
home water purifier is the only sure solution for clean healthy water... "
-Charles Strand, author of the book All About Water and Editor of
WaterWarning.com

"There is no logical explanation for regular bottled water use: It costs more, offers
less and pollutes our planet unforgivingly..."
-Dr. Julian Whitaker

A simple solution to plastic water bottle pollution:

Home water filtration is the most logical, most economical, most convenient and
healthiest alternative to tap or bottled water. With home water filtration you can
pick the degree of purity you want and have complete control over it. Considering
the extreme importance of healthy, chemical free water, a quality home water
filter may be the most valuable home appliance you can own. Once you look at
the facts, we believe you'll join the millions of informed consumers who "Just Say
No" to bottled water. It's better for you, better for our economy and better for our
planet!
The Facts on Bottled Water
Shehnaz Toorawa

The bottled water industry is no less than environmental madness. — Friends of

the Earth.

Bottled water is the world's fastest-growing commercial beverage. Canadians

drink more bottled water than coffee, tea, apple juice, and milk. We consume
more than two billion liters of it each year. Yet, few of us question where this
water comes from. How safe is it? What are its effects on the environment?

Bottled Water Is Often the Same Water That Pours From Your Tap

More than a quarter of bottled water is just plain tap water. Coca-Cola bottles
water from municipal sources in Calgary and Brampton for its Dasani brand.
Pepsi bottles water from municipal sources in Vancouver and Mississauga for its
Aquafina brand. In October 2007, in the US, Pepsi was forced to admit the truth:
It must label its Aquafina bottles as "tap water from a public water source."
(Larsen)

Some bottled water contains added minerals that provide no health benefit. The
French Senate advises people who drink bottled mineral water to change brands
frequently because the added minerals may be dangerous in high doses.

Bottled Water Can Be More Harmful Than Tap Water

In North America, tap water faces stricter regulations than bottled water.
Ontario's new Safe Drinking Water Act sets maximum levels of chemical,
bacterial, and radiological parameters for municipal drinking water supplies. All
drinking water in Ontario meets these standards. Bottled water is not legally
required to meet these standards. Bottled water at bottling plants is tested far
less frequently than tap water at municipal treatment facilities. The City of
Toronto tests its water quality every four hours while bottled water plants receive
government inspections once every three to six years.

Several scientific studies have found disturbing concentrations of toxics such as

arsenic and mercury in bottled water samplings. When Coca-Cola launched its
Dasani product in the UK in March 2004, it had to withdraw half a million bottles
because of bromate contamination. Ontario's regulations require that test results
of municipal drinking water be available to the public on demand. This is not
required for bottled water. There is no information readily available to the public
about the quality of particular bottled water products.
Plastic Water Bottles Can Be Toxic

Bisphenol A in plastic water bottles is more harmful than anything in tap water. It
mimics estrogens (human female hormones) and is linked to breast and ovarian
cancers, reproductive abnormalities, developmental problems, obesity, and
diabetes. Bisphenol A is only one of many chemicals in plastic whose effects
have not yet been researched.

Bottled Water Is Sold at Deceivingly High Prices

In the Industrial World, bottled water is not healthier, safer, or superior to tap
water. Yet, its price is comparable to that of gasoline. In Canada, the price for
bottled water is 3,000 times higher than what you pay for municipal water through
your taxes. Most bottled water companies pump water free from groundwater
aquifers or municipal supplies. When you buy a bottle of water, you do not pay
for the water; you pay for the bottle's production, packaging, transportation,
advertising, retailing, marketing, and the company's profits.

Bottled Water Is Lethal for the Planet

In its production and disposal, bottled water consumes and destroys resources at
an astounding rate. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic
in water bottles, is derived from crude oil. Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter
of the way up with oil; that is how much oil produced the bottle. One-quarter of
bottled water crosses national boundaries before it reaches consumers, requiring
more oil for transport. The production of a bottle also consumes more water —
three to five times more — than the bottle itself holds.

Water bottles are the fastest-growing form of municipal solid waste in the US and
Canada. More than 85 percent of bottles consumed globally are tossed into the
trash rather than the recycling bin. They either rot in landfills or are incinerated.
These water bottles release highly toxic chemicals into the air and water when
they are manufactured, and again when they are burned or buried. Buried water
bottles take up to 1,000 years to break down, and even then, they never
completely biodegrade.

A worse fate awaits bottles that end in the ocean. About 10 percent of all plastic
reaches the ocean. 900 kilometers off the coast of California, a massive,
expanding island of plastic debris, 30-meter deep and bigger than the province of
Quebec, swirls in what is called the North Pacific Gyre. Plastic does not
biodegrade in the ocean. It photodegrades, which means that under sunlight it
disintegrates into smaller and smaller pieces. The tiniest bits of plastic, called
nurdles, enter the food chain when marine animals and birds eat them. Nurdles
absorb and accumulate toxins as they move up the food chain. More than a
million birds and marine animals die every year from eating plastic waste or
entangling in plastic.
Bottled Water Violates the Human Right to a Common Resource

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "People are co-
owners in three things: water, fire, and pasture". The Prophet forbade the sale of
excess water (Abu Dawud).

The bottled-water industry privatizes water, which should remain a public

resource. In the Developing World, bottled-water companies remove water for
free and profit from it while they destroy water tables (upper level of an
underground surface in which the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with
water.) (Britannica.com) and damage communities. In India, for example, water
extraction by Coca-Cola for its Dasani brand caused water shortages for 50
villages. (Arnold)

The companies drill a hole in the ground, pump the water, and transport it to
cities, leaving villagers with reduced local water. The villagers must now pay high
prices to import water from other locations. Similar problems are reported in
Texas and in the Great Lakes region of North America, where farmers, fishers,
and others who depend on water for their livelihoods are suffering. They are
witnessing a drop in local groundwater tables from concentrated water extraction
by large companies.

Ban the Bottle?

Many organizations and local governments are already taking action against
bottled water. The Earth Policy Institute maintains a list of governments and
organizations that have taken steps to eliminate bottled water. The United
Church of Canada, Canada's largest Protestant denomination, added "drinking
bottled water" as an immoral act to a list that includes the Iraq War and gambling.
The Church urged, in August 2006, its 3 million members to drink tap water
instead. The Church said water is "God's sacred gift'' and should be available to
all people, not exploited for profit.

We know that 20 percent of the world's population lack access to an adequate

supply of clean drinking water. The world now spends over USD46 billion a year
on bottled water. According to Water Aid, USD18 billion would meet the UN's
goal of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water and
sanitation. Instead of bottling water by private companies, improving and
expanding existing public water-treatment and sanitation systems are more likely
to provide safe and sustainable sources of water on the long term.