Don't Drink Bottled Water...

[The Riff-Raff Element]

This from the "Telegraph:"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... 7.xml&CMP

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. The gist is that since the production, transportation and distribution of bottled water produces an amount of carbon dioxide as driving one kilometer we should all shun it.

Which, OK, I can see a logic in. But this message comes from the UK govt.'s "Natural Resource Commissoner" (oh that he could be the "Green Tsar" instead) who goes so far as to call bottled water "immoral."

Can he not think of ANYTHING more environmentally damaging to go after than bottled water? I can - and I'm not even paid to do it. The over pakaging on childrens toys, any car that does less than 30 miles to the gallon and non-rechargable batteries are three that come quickly to mind.

The problem with this sort of nonsense it that it makes many poeple think that other inititives that might make a quick and significant difference are equally silly.

Am I being over critical?

[oldfella]

He's a politician, I think that may answer your question.

[ina]

I must, however, agree with him - I've not bought bottled water for a long time. I even avoid bottled fruit juices, as almost all of them have been "remade" from water (comes free of charge out of my tap) and concentrates. So I buy just the concentrates, and avoid all the CO2 that's going out in the environment by transporting water around.

You are, of course, right - there are things in the world that are a lot more damaging to the environment. But it's good to have it pointed out once in a while that even things you think "healthy" have their negative side effects.

[Millymollymandy]

And what about all the other drinks that come in packaging? If you like to drink water, decent water that is, why not buy bottled? People buy other drinks in glass or plastic or tetra paks and nobody is knocking that (well maybe they are ).

[Smooth Hound]

Aparently it takes 11 litres of water to put 1 litre of water on the shelf, and as far as i understand it we are entering a time of water shortages. As you say though there are plenty of other things that are over packaged to pick on. Perhaps they think people are more likely to see the problem and act on it if they can get this across to people, which is perhaps why they have picked the product of water to demonstrate this, as it is a direct example that cant really be miss understood, where as if they were to say it takes 11 litres of water to produce the plastic covering of an easter egg, then people would say "so" because they wouldnt see the irony, which is there for all to see with the water bottle example

[ina]

And what about all the other drinks that come in packaging? If you like to drink water, decent water that is, why not buy bottled? People buy other drinks in glass or plastic or tetra paks and nobody is knocking that (well maybe they are ).

I admit that in some areas tap water isn't fit to drink straight as it comes - but then I'd invest in a filter. I personally very rarely buy any bottled drinks (OK, alcoholic ones excluded - they don't come in concentrate form yet!); I mean all those awful fizzy pops that are being guzzled by the gallon... And as I said above, there is an alternative for juices. And I'm not talking about squashes here - they are a sham, too - just sugar water with a little juice in them!

[marshlander]

I agree Ina, a filter is a good idea for those on chlorine smelly mains water.
I also read somewhere that bottled water can contain a lot of bacteria.

(Our water comes from our own well so it tastes fine and only has to travel from 112 feet down!)

Whether drawing attention to the co2 impact of bottled water/drinks in general is a good idea or trivialises bigger issues - I'm not sure. It's a bit like the carrier bag thing - the bags only take up a tiny proportion of landfill but we all agree it's a good idea not to use them.

When people stop using bags perhaps they'll then start thinking about packaging in general. Perhaps bottled water will catch peoples attention and get them thinking about transporting water or even food in general.

hope springs eternal!

[ina]

... and you have to start somewhere...

[Millymollymandy]

We are now drinking bottled water and putting it in the kettle for health reasons. We can't use a filter because we have very soft water which isn't good for you. We need hard water! I won't go into all the health reasons but suffice to say neither of us suffer what we suffer here when we are in England drinking hard water, nor where we used to live in France with hard water.

[red]

why is soft water bad for you? soft water is just water without a lot of calcium. We naturally have soft water here, have drunk it all my life with no ill effect. soft water is also kinder to appliances and kettles etc.

if by soft water you actually mean you have surface water.. ie collected from rivers etc.. then it might be high in contaminants. but out soft water is also ground water

[ina]

Yep - soft water here, too, and it's doing me and my kettle and the washing a world of good!
I only use a filter jug now when I get visitors who aren't used to drinking tap water.

[maggienetball]

The tap water where I live is absolutely disgustiing and tastes like bleach. I reluctantly boil it and use it for bathing, but I am not drinking it. There are loads of added chemicals in it that I do not want to put in my body.

I buy and drink bottled water, but used to feel guilty about the plastic and mileage (although I do recycle.) However, I have tried the filters and found them to be non recyclable (which for me is worse than the mileage but I know many of you may not agree), I have had 4 direct filters all of which have given up after a few months and I'm not wasting any more money on them.

I have decided that I am not going to feel bad about bottled water as there are far worse things to worry about. I do my bit (and probably a few other people's as well). And I will continue to try to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible.

If the water companies supplied quality drinking water without the huge amount of chemical additives, then we wouldn't need bottled water.

So the environmental damage is their fault not mine!

[ina]

If the water companies supplied quality drinking water without the huge amount of chemical additives, then we wouldn't need bottled water.

True enough!

Have you tried one of those filters (can't remember what they are called) that are linked directly into your water pipe? I'm sure those jug thingies aren't nowhere near strong enough for water that's as bad as yours...

[maggienetball]

Yes, they're the "direct filters" I mentioned. They fit under your sink and go between your water pipe and tap. They're rubbish in my opinion. I've had 4 so far and they've all broken. Most of my work colleagues have tried them too with no success. At work we have an industrial machine thingy that electronically filters the water. Not for home use and probably less EF than bottles water though I don't know.

The Brita filters do seem to work but the cartridges aren't recyclable and so I won't buy them anymore.

Goodness, it's hard to know nowadays if you are saving the planet or killing yourself!

[ina]

One place I worked we had one of those electronic ones, too (for the kitchen) - no idea how they worked, or how expensive they are, but it did work well.

Actually, I think I read somewhere that the Brita (and equivalent) filters can be recycled - but, surprise, surprise, not in this country!