I saw a segment on CNN in which PepsiCo admitted that Aquafina is tap water. And while Coca-cola wouldn’t admit it as publicly as PepsiCo, the company has also stated that Dasani is tap water (admitted as far back as 2004).
Why are we paying for it? And why are we paying for a plastic bottle that we use once and throw away? That’s 38 billion water bottles a year in landfills, in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic and billions of dollars in oil/gas to ship, fly and drive it to us.
Big money
The 15 billion dollar bottled water industry has been steadily growing over the past decade and is now second only to soft drinks. But if it’s tap water in disguise, why are we giving away our money? Why are some people paying $55 for a bottle of Bling that claims to be “more than water?” It is only water.
The mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, banned city departments from purchasing bottled water, encouraged the use of tap water and saved the city a half million dollars, not to mention millions of bottles from the landfill. Now the new snob appeal is tap water…at least in California.
New York plans to follow suit.
Traveling
I understand the need to carry a bottle or buy bottled water in certain countries where it’s hot or the quality of tap water is questionable. But why not carry a reusable plastic bottle and refill it at safe sources?
Water fountains throughout North America and Europe are perfectly safe.
In India and Africa, all of us had water carriers and filled up for free at restaurants deemed safe (and they were) or expensive hotels that were more than happy to accommodate us.
Don’t like it, filter it
For those who don’t like the taste of tap water at home, Brita and PUR offer filtering systems that attach to faucets and showerheads, in addition to pitchers that fit in the fridge, filter drinking water as needed or refill plastic bottles for use outside the home.
Carrefour in Greece offers Brita and other comparable systems. I’ve had mine for 15 years and replace filters every 3-4 months with heavy use.
It’s also not healthier
“Bottled Water Isn’t Healthier than Tap” by National Geographic
Related posts
“10 Easy ways to save the planet”
“PepsiCo reports bottled water sales in Greece fall by half since crisis”
“How much does garbage cost? Too many natural resources”
“Lethal air pollution in Athens”
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Photo from CBS news
Kat Reply:
December 7th, 2012 at 08:39
Answer 1:
In some areas of Greece, the tap water is quite OK. In others, definitely not. It also depends on the day and who is in charge.
As it says in the article, the filtering systems include pitchers with filters, so they’re portable and can be used in a dorm, if you’re interested.
Answer 2:
The landlords aren’t at fault for quality of water and will likely file your request under “funny foreigner” (aka, “pffft, xeni”). Good luck.