There are a lot of myths and urban legends about tap and bottled water. Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know.
1. 93% of bottled water contains microplastics
2. More than ¼ of bottled water is just municipal tap water
3. It takes 3 liters of water to produce a 0.5L bottle of water
4. Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making plastic from raw materials
5. In 2020 the U.S only recycled 28percent of PET plastic – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year
6. U.S. households spend $16 billion per year on bottled water – that is more than the total cost of the 2018 Winter Olympics
7. Bottled water is more expensive than gas per gallon
8. America uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually to produce water bottles
That’s enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year (not including oil used for transportation).
9. There is no real scientific proof that bottled water is healthier than tap water
10. Bottled water is a packaged good, and is regulated by the FDA.
Manufacturers are not required to disclose water sources, treatment processes, nor to publish any contaminant reports.
Conclusion:
If this article convinced you, and you want to give up on water bottles, you might want to get an active carbon filter, such as TAPP 2. Our latest filter is efficient in removing Chlorine (often associated with poor taste and smell), Lead and other heavy metals, as well as over 80 other contaminants – all while letting the healthy mineral through.
Sources:
- https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-plastic/
- https://www.nrdc.org/stories/truth-about-tap
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/28/241419373/how-much-water-actually-goes-into-making-a-bottle-of-water
- https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/the-facts-plastic/
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
- https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/
- https://www.abc2news.com/business/consumer/americans-spend-16-billion-a-year-on-bottled-water
- http://pacinst.org/publication/bottled-water-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/
- http://www.bottledwater.org/education/bottled-water-storage
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6 thoughts on “10 Things you didn’t know about bottled water in the U.S”
Thank you for the heads up that recycling plastic is 88% more energy-efficient than creating new plastic from raw materials. This is precisely why my dad would appreciate if his bottled water delivery servicemen bring in weekly water in recyclable glass bottles instead of plastic. Since he’s a green advocate he wouldn’t want to either add up the more plastic trash or to additional carbon footprint by using plastic instead of glass, which isn’t only more aesthetically pleasing but also safer to keep water fresher and cooler. http://www.mountainvalleywaterar.com/
Thanks for the feedback. Glass bottles are definitely better but they still have a high CO2 footprint due to manufacturing, transportation and recycling. It’s better if you avoid bottled water entirely and drink tap water.
Oh great now you’re not gonna moderate it
I know that tap water is much better than bottled water in almost every field and that your reasons in the article above are valid as well, however people are bound to take your opinion less professionally if you don’t include your last name as well as marketing products that are pro tap water on the same site. It makes your opinion seem more biased to one side, although I don’t believe it is. Also please just moderate this comment.
Hi!
Thank you for the feedback. That’s a great point. We will update the names of the authors.
Thanks
the TAPP Water Team
Thanks, yes we agree and will change to full name of authors being displayed.
The TAPP Water Team