The bottled water industry in America produces many different varieties of water but predominately manufactures spring and filtered. When most people look at their bottle of Aquafina or Dasani, they are unaware that the companies obtain water from free and public sources and simply filter out any impurities. In addition to many misconceptions about the quality of water, distinguishing the differences between brands can be extremely difficult. Many people claim they prefer Poland Spring to Deer Park, but little do they know that Nestlé owns both of them, among many others.
The bottled water versus tap water argument sheds light on some very important factors about the water we drink on a daily basis. The Food and Drug Administration oversees the production of bottled water. Since most companies have factories in each state, water bottles rarely pass state borders, and this eliminates the water ever being tested. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates tap water, and although the safety of tap water depends on the region in which it is provided, it goes through similar procedures as bottled water does to be deemed “drinkable.” At the end of the day, tap water does the same as bottled water, at a fraction of the price.
The plastic bottles that hold water contain the chemical bisphenol, more commonly known as BPA. BPA can be detrimental to your health because it contains toxins that negatively affect many parts of the body. The FDA states that BPA is safe when exposure is moderate, but if the general public consumes the recommended amount of water, and all of that water is bottled, exposure moves from harmless to harmful.
Not only are the chemicals in plastic bottles detrimental to your health, but they are aiding to the deterioration of the world around us. According to safebottles.com in the United States over 1,500 bottles of water are purchased every second, and only 25 percent of them are recycled. The rest end up in landfills, lakes and oceans and never get the chance to decompose entirely. In addition to the rising number of bottles wasted every day, the production and transportation of plastic bottles is significantly polluting the environment as well.
It is no secret that the pace at which we burn fossil fuels for industrial purposes is harming the environment and that the corporation power plants and factories are to blame. The production of bottled water uses an inexcusable amount of energy and omits toxic gases into the atmosphere, harming the health of the public in addition to destroying the ozone layers. The documentary “Tapped” goes in depth about the bottled water industry and discusses the positive and negative impacts that it has on the environment, economy and society in general. There are ups and downs to every industry, so think twice the next time you pick up a bottle of water.
