The Negative Effects of Bottled Water free essay sample

The importance of discussing this issue is advantageous because the public is unaware that tap water is more favourable than bottled water. Choosing tap water over bottled water is beneficial because it preserves the environment, is cheaper to consume, and, in most cases, is a healthier choice. There are several problems surrounding bottled water; the most important issue involves how it effects the environment. Manufacturing and shipping products, pumping water, and recycling bottles are reasons that contribute to the fact that bottled water is disastrous for the environment. Bottled water industries pollute the environment through manufacturing and shipping products. One form of pollution caused by bottled water is gas emissions: â€Å"The energy required to manufacture and transport the bottles to market severely depletes our supplies of fossil fuels and adds to greenhouse gas emissions† (Natural Life, 2007, p. 10). The plastic that makes up bottles, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is made from oil and generates more than 100 times the toxic emissions than other plastics. We will write a custom essay sample on The Negative Effects of Bottled Water or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It takes 15 million barrels of oil per year to make all the plastic water bottles in the United States, which diminishes available fossil fuels even more (Knopper, 2008). Also, the amount of water PET requires to create one plastic bottle is significantly higher than the amount of water that the bottle will contain. This, in conjunction with the water used to fill the bottles, is a threat to wells, streams, wetlands, and lakes, which is causing stress on ecosystems. Shockingly, â€Å"Bottling companies can pump up to 500 gallons per minute, or even more, out of each well, and many wells run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year† (Natural Life, 2007, p. 0). This surprising statistic can only mean that the levels of water available from municipal sources are decreasing, threatening available drinking water from taps. Moreover, billions of plastic bottles, which is approximately equivalent to 65,000 tons, are thrown out every year; this is an adequate amount of bottles to circle the gl obe five times a week (Carlson, 2010). More than 80 percent of plastic bottles are not recycled: â€Å"Americans throw away 1,500 plastic bottles every second. Most end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to break down† (Crane, 2011, p. 2). A significant amount of bottles that end up in landfills have floated into the Pacific Ocean and have formed an island of plastic that is twice the size of Texas. When these bottles begin to disintegrate, birds and fish ingest the tiny pieces of plastic, resulting in death (Knopper, 2008). Interestingly enough, even the few bottles that are recycled in the United States are shipped to landfills in India, where they are down-cycled. Down-cycling means the plastic is turned into lower quality products to be eventually thrown out. This process, in turn, uses more oil and gas, which leads to more emissions (The Story of Stuff Project, 2010). Based on the amount of pollution produced and water depleted, it is evident that bottled water negatively impacts the environment. Canadians spent a shocking $650 million on bottled water in 2005, an amount that has continued to increase drastically since then (Kingston, 2007). â€Å"Over the past five years, Canadian bottled water sales increased more than 50 percent† (Adeland, 2011, p. 221). These statistics are alarming because bottled water should be considered less favourable than tap water since it costs significantly more. Monetarily speaking, â€Å"Ounce for ounce, [bottled water] can cost as much as 2,000 times more than tap water† (Crane, 2011, p. 11). Also, for the most part, bottled water is basically packaged tap water: â€Å"Much of the bottled water for sale comes from municipal taps (40 percent in the U. S. )† (Natural Life, 2007, p. 10). Essentially, consumers are paying 2,000 times more for bottled water than the price for water that could easily be poured from the kitchen faucet. The amount of oil that is consumed for shipment and production of plastic bottles is the main reason why the price of bottled water is marked up so high. In addition to paying higher costs for bottled water, consumers’ tax dollars are responsible for paying to recycle the bottles. â€Å"More than four billion pounds of plastic water bottles go into landfills each year. This costs $70 million of taxpayers money each year in the United States alone† (Adeland, 2011, p. 230). The bottled water industry has made their products readily available and more convenient making it is easier to purchase a bottle of ater than it is to pour a glass of water from a tap. This results in a high demand for the product and, therefore, costs to manufacture, ship, and purchase bottled water are extreme. Besides being costly to the environment and to users, consuming bottled water does not come without health concerns. The plastic in bottled water, PET, breaks down and releases toxic chemical s into the water. â€Å"A study of 132 brands of bottled water in PET bottles stored for six months found that significant levels of antimony, a toxic chemical used in the bottle’s productions, had leached into the water† (Kingston, 2007, p. 0). The natural breakdown of this plastic can only allow for PET water bottles to be recycled a few times, each time risking more contaminants to be released in the water to be ingested by consumers. In regards to treatment and filtration, bottled water manufacturers are not as closely monitored as municipal water plants. â€Å"For instance, city tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria, but FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition† (Natural Life, 2007, p. 9). Another example of how bottled water is not as regulated as tap water involves testing for contaminants. For instance, Toronto, Ontario’s tap water must meet standards regarding 160 contaminants while bottled water benchmarks are less then six (Kingston, 2007). Sullivan and Leavey (2011) report on a study they conducted which tested the presence of 17 heavy metals in six different sources of bottled natural spring water. Fourteen of the 17 heavy metals tested in this study were detected and each of the brands of bottled water contained heavy metals. Arsenic contaminated all six sources in the highest concentration. These findings are not exclusive to natural spring water. In 2004, Coca-Cola recalled half a million Dasani water bottles in the UK due to excessive levels of bromate, a potentially harmful chemical. In 2007, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, recalled Jermuk Classic Sparkling Mineral Water for containing excessive levels of arsenic (Kingston, 2007). Arsenic is a mineral that is known to cause cancer and is linked to skin damage and circulatory issues with exposure to high concentrations. The contaminants in the plastic bottle itself, as well as in the packaged water, demonstrates that bottled water can have adverse influences on health. There are several, significant reasons why bottled water is surrounded by controversy: bottled water negatively effects the environment, the financial health of consumers, and the publics over all health. Evidently, an increase in bottled water consumption leads to a snowball effect of undesirable events. As discussed, oil is needed to produce the plastic used for bottled water, which effects the environment through gas emissions.