Why should you drink tap water rather than bottled water? Environmentalists keep warning about the dangers of plastic bottles to our nature, animals and health.
At the same time, media and some experts are warning that the tap water is full of pharmaceuticals, microplastics, heavy metals and chemicals. Who should you believe? What’s the truth?
Here are 5 facts about why you should drink tap water (filtered or unfiltered):
1. It’s generally safe and healthy
Don’t take our word for this. Based on hundreds of studies around the world, to drink tap water that follows the World Health Organization’s guidelines for drinkable water (US and EU countries do) is generally as healthy or healthier than bottled water.
The water from the tap is tested several times every day to ensure that it’s safe to drink and in case it’s not, your water company is obliged to inform you. In England alone, 99.97% of analysis passed the stringent tests last year and most of Europe and the US report similar results.
Unfortunately there are many cases where the water turns out to be unsafe to drink despite regulation and testing. Recent issues include lead found in the tap water in Flint, New Jersey and Chicago and PFAS found in 30 regions in the US and Europe. Another recent problem is microplastics as we don't know the impact on humans yet. A simple, affordable and high quality water filter such as EcoPro Compact will protect you and your family from the most common water pollutants.
2. Drink tap water and save money
Tap water costs less than 0.1p / cent per liter. Bottled water costs from 20p per liter and upwards, making it 200x more expensive or even more depending on the brand. Bottled water in restaurants, coffee shops and kiosks is even more expensive.
By drinking tap water at home and carrying a refillable water bottle, people save a lot of money, sometimes as much as 500 GBP (€570) per year. A water filter will also save considerable amounts of money. Just do the calculation of how much you are currently spending in bottled water and we guarantee you will be surprised!
3. Convenience
The tap provides unlimited fresh water whenever needed for drinking, cooking, making tea & coffee, hydrating your pets or watering sensitive indoor plants. No more buying, carrying heavy bottles or disposing of them. With a faucet filter it’s the same level of convenience. Just make sure to replace the cartridges frequently (every 3 months) and buy a nice refillable bottle from TAPP for free tap water on the go.
4. Taste
In some places like New York, London, Munich and Madrid the local tap water tastes pretty good. In other countries and local municipalities it may taste poor or really bad. But the bad taste can easily be improved by using a water filter or adding citrus fruits. According to blind tests, 9 out of 10 people cannot taste the difference between filtered and bottled water. And for those that prefer sparkling water, there is the option of making it yourself.
5. Environment
Plastic waste is destroying our oceans, wildlife and earth. Less than 10% of plastic gets recycled worldwide and the rest ends up in landfills and our nature, and eventually breaks down into microplastics ending up in the groundwater, rivers and oceans.
In addition to this, there’s a hefty carbon footprint associated to bottled water, with some reports estimating around 82.8g of CO2 for a half-litre bottle – not insignificant when everyone’s drinking it. As if this was not enough, each 1 liter of bottled water produced uses up to 4 liters for production and filtering. With tap water the environmental impact a close to zero, except for the amount of water used.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, stop drinking bottled water, drink tap water now. Try out EcoPro or anyone of our other products!
Sources
The sources for the content in this article include:
- WHO Drinking Water guidelines
- EU Drinking Water Directive
- EPA Drinking Water Framework
- UK Drinking Water Inspectorate
- NIH
- NHS
- Greenpeace
