Discuss the environmental, quality and economic issues associated with the manufacture and consumption of bottled water

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First, let's discuss some of the data for the U.S. consumption of bottled water. In 2008 the average American drank 29 gallons of bottled water and paid collectively over $11 billion dollars. They paid more per gallon for water than for gasoline. In 2009, a study of the energy outlays for bottled water showed that 1000-2000x the energy was expended than for an equivalent amount of tap water. Most of the energy was used in manufacturing the product and transporting it, and both the material for the bottlers and the energy used to transport it require fossil fuels. After use, only 1 of 4 bottles is recycled. Second, there is a measurable environmental impact from the extraction of water used for bottling. A few large corporations account for the vast majority of the manufacturing, and the withdrawal of already limited groundwater is drawing public opposition from many communities. Finally, recent chemical analyses of bottled water have shown that these products are no healthier or purer than most tap water and also contain many pollutants, some of them hormone mimic plasticizers leached into the water from the bottles themselves.