We've learned more about bottled water since we ordered our own. It's been fun to give away - but we will not be ordering any more and are labeling the bottles we have left with a link to this site.
And we are asking for forgiveness. Here's why:
We've found too many of our bottles thrown in the trash or simply on the ground. Nine out of 10 plastic water bottles end up as either garbage or litter-at a rate of 30 million per day. -Container Recycling Institute [1]
Bottling water is an unnecessary waste of resources.
- One study [2] found that the manufacture and transport of one kilogram bottle of Fiji water consumes over 6 times as much water as is in the bottle - not to mention at least .25 gallons of fossil fuel.
- The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and World Wildlife Federation have all urged their supporters to consume less bottled water. A 1999 NRDC study [3] found that bottled water was no purer or safer than most tap water. More facts [4] about bottled water quality versus tap water from he MN Dept of Health.
- "Fiji Water produces more than a million bottles a day, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have reliable drinking water." Read more from this article [5] in Fast Company magazine.
Bottled water raises moral questions that can't be ignored. For example, should clean water become a commodity available only to people who can afford it? Read more [6].