Is buying bottled water wrong?

[trevster2k]

David Suzuki thinks so and I think he has a point.

Dr. David Suzuki is Canada's foremost environmentalist and ranked the highest Greatest living Canadian. At the age of 70, Suzuki is presently touring Canada to get feedback from Canadians about the environment.

"I think in Canada it's absolutely disgusting that people are so uncertain about their water that we buy it, paying more for bottled water than we do for gasoline."

Moreover, he said it's destructive to import bottled water from producers in countries such as France.

"It's nuts to be shipping water all the way across the planet, and us — because we're so bloody wealthy — we're willing to pay for that water because it comes from France," he said in an interview.

"I don't believe for a minute that French water is better than Canadian water. I think that we've got to drink the water that comes out of our taps, and if we don't trust it, we ought to be raising hell about that."

Key environmental issues with bottled water, Suzuki said, are waste and uncertainty over the long-term health effects created by plastic.

"Not only does bottled water lead to unbelievable pollution — with old bottles lying all over the place — but plastic has chemicals in it," he said.

"Plastics are ubiquitous. I don't believe that plastics are not involved in a great deal of the health problems that we face today."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/02/01/suzuki-water.html

 

[Angela Harlem]

I've thought along these lines ever since the cryptosporidium and giardia crisis hit Sydney and everyone went nuts and decided that even after the water was declared clean bottled water was the way to go.

I dont know what irritates me more; seeing people surgically attached to their bottled water, or surgically attached to their little coffee cups.

 

[Alisaura]

The bottled water I (occasionally) buy is Australian water, so it hasn't travelled from France... and further more, I mostly only buy it for the bottle, which I re-use many many times by re-filling it with tap water. I don't think that makes me a bad person...

 

[redhotswami]

I'm not a fan of bottled water either. I live in an area where there is no reason for people to drink bottled water, because the water is clean. But people buy that stuff all the time. However, when I lived in DC, the water was so nasty you could actually see things floating in it, and it had sort of a brown color. The city actually sent brita filters to our house, and people were told not to drink the tap. THAT is when using bottled water is necessary.

I don't understand why so much money is spent on importing water, when the same money can be used to build better water systems.

Also, I think it sucks that people can just get bottles of water whenever they want, when there are 1 billion people in this world who do not have access to free, safe, drinking water. Granted, I know we can't just ship buckets of water to the people in these countries, but it just really bothers me how there is an abundance of water access here (all we have to do is turn on our taps, and there it is!) and there are so many who have to walk for miles to get water...and that water might not even be drinkable.

 

[Vincent Vega]

But Kate Moss needs to drink liters of Evian water and take a bath in Evian water every now and then.

You can't imagine how important that is.

 

[jessi-ma-ca]

further more, I mostly only buy it for the bottle, which I re-use many many times by re-filling it with tap water. I don't think that makes me a bad person...

i totally agree. i buy water so that i can have the bottle that i can carry arroud so that i have water to drink. especially in summer, when is stinking hot (not so much this year as any sydney sider will agree with).

anyway, what is worse, buying water, or buying soft drinks????

 

[LJT]

I don't get why such advanced nations that we live in can't provide clean tap water to people's homes

My tap water is pretty clean though, can't remember the last time I bought bottled water.

 

[Liesje]

I've never bought bottled water. Grand Rapids was the first city in the world to add fluoride to city water. I've always been a "city girl" so I've always had city water, not well water. Unless you have a bad well, there's no reason to buy bottled water. If you want the minerals out of the water, you should get one of those faucet attachments instead of creating all that waste with plastic bottles. For water at work/school I use one of those indestructible hiking bottles.

Being in Tanzania was the first time I drank bottled water, and I felt strange/guilty the entire time.

 

[U2Girl416]

I buy bottled water occasionally, most likely if I'm out somewhere and soda is the only thing to drink or traveling in an airport. I use a brita at home. when I go work out, I fill a bottle and I take it with me. when I was still living in NY though, I always drank the tap water. thought it was the best tasting water. I tend not to drink the tap in IL though.

 

[corianderstem]

I buy bottled water, but only the cheap stuff that the local grocery store throws in a big milk-type jug. It's possible they're just filling it up with tap water at headquarters or something, but it tastes better than the tap water in my apartment, so I'm fine with it. My tap water has a metallic taste, and honestly I'd rather spend a buck on a jug of water so I can have water that tastes like nothing, the way water is supposed to taste.

 

[Liesje]

Our apartment has nasty tap water too but for some reason if I fill a jug or glass and let it sit for a little while it tastes fine.

 

[Varitek]

I've always thought buying water is stupid if the tap water is safe. It's a waste of money and resources. I understand it once in a while - you're thirsty and not near a tap, or you want the bottle, or it's really cheap and you want a crate to grab one for workouts or whatever. But Perrier etc disgusts me. Tap water can be filtered and refridgerated (cold water always tastes better).

 

[A_Wanderer]

I will drink bottled water if I habe to, I sure as hell don't feel guilty about it.

 

[deep]

There is something much worse than buying / paying 2 dollars for bottled water.

 

[verte76]

I don't buy bottled water. If I want to drink water, tap is good enough for me. I don't have to drink some fashionable bottled water from France. The guy has a good point. There are millions of people all over the world who don't have access to clean water, and that's a crime.

 

[Caroni]

we HAVE to buy the water or boil it and filtrate it



Our water (if we have it , since we are in a middle of a crisis here) is not good enough

 

[redhotswami]

I've got a Lively Arts group coming in, and in their contract they DEMAND only Poland Spring water (it actually specifically says "No Evian" too!) Too bad for them, because that water isn't sold anywhere in this area. Now that's just snobby!

 

[intedomine]

It's pointless.
I only buy bottled water if I am not already in posession of a necessary bottle to use for refilling from a harmless little tap.

Otherwise, it's a case of have bottle, will use....and use and use and use and use....

 

[I'm Ready]

I only use bottled waters when I need water at a time/place where no other option is available

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I'm of the camp that will buy a bottle occasionally, then fill it up for weeks with the drinking fountain/tap water at home.

It really is ridiculous, how much we spend on something we get for free in our own homes.

 

[Pearl]

^^^I do the same

and I agree that it is a crime that millions of people are without clean water. I feel guilty when I think about it.

 

[fly so high!]

I would not say it is wrong to buy Bottled water but WHY if you have perfectly fine tap water! Tap water can be very beneficial especially when Flouride (helps fight tooth decay!) is added to it.......i believe that's the case in all of Australian states but don't quote me on that.

Although in Oz, the bottled water companies are rubbing their hands together right now as they are preparing for the insurgence of freaked out water drinkers when it comes to the de-salinisation campaigns that's going ahead.

 

[LJT]

Our apartment has nasty tap water too but for some reason if I fill a jug or glass and let it sit for a little while it tastes fine.

Is it a slightly cloudy when it comes out, and then the cloudiness disappears? If so it might be to do with pressurised carbon dioxide being used to help move water up floors.

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

I drink tap water where I live now because it tastes fine. I used to drink bottled water growing up because the tap water tasted bad (and it was also found out later on that there was too much copper or something in it). I think my teeth may have suffered from the lack of flouride though because I seem to get a lot of cavities.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I would not say it is wrong to buy Bottled water but WHY if you have perfectly fine tap water! Tap water can be very beneficial especially when Flouride (helps fight tooth decay!) is added to it.......i believe that's the case in all of Australian states but don't quote me on that.

Although in Oz, the bottled water companies are rubbing their hands together right now as they are preparing for the insurgence of freaked out water drinkers when it comes to the de-salinisation campaigns that's going ahead.

I reckon this desalination plant will be the final nail in the coffin for nsw labor!

 

[maycocksean]

Everybody in Saipan drinks bottled water. The water from the tap is completely unsafe for drinking. Most of us get the big blue five gallon jugs which the various water companies refill for us.

I do reuse the same personal water bottle for maybe a week at a time. For some reasons I can't fathom, I have a hard time drinking from cups. I drink a lot more water when I have a bottle for some reason.

However, I've heard that reusing plastic water bottles is not particularly safe as bacteria can build up from reuse and also sometimes the plastic starts to breakdown leaching toxins into the water. But I do it anyway.

 

[anitram]

I moved into a brand new building in September (wasn't even totally finished yet at that point) and the water just tastes weird. I don't know what it is exactly, but there's an off taste about it. So I prefer either bottled water or I dump in some Crystal Light into the tap water, no calories and the flavour of it is disguised.

 

[Vincent Vega]

In Australia they mix it with some chlorine or something.
It tastes like chlorine, so I think they use it.
I don't know if you Aussies taste that, but I definitely did.

Here in Germany, carbonized water is very common, so most drink bottled water.

 

[indra]

The tap water here is potable, but tastes awful, so I have a Brita filter. I filter all the water I use for eating, cooking, or giving to my cats and dogs. While I do occasionally buy bottled water when I'm travelling, mostly I fill several bottles I have with the filtered water and use that.

I'm not sure buying bottled water is wrong (as several people have noted in many places it is necessary, but I'm assuming the question is to those in places where it isn't necessary), but it does seem very wasteful, especially since a great deal of bottled water is merely filtered tap water and most people can easily do that themselves.

 

[Liesje]

I'm not sure buying bottled water is wrong (as several people have noted in many places it is necessary, but I'm assuming the question is to those in places where it isn't necessary), but it does seem very wasteful, especially since a great deal of bottled water is merely filtered tap water and most people can easily do that themselves.

Yeah, I agree. The bottle is what makes me think it's wasteful. I don't know if this is true in other places, but our grocery stores sell giant jugs of the good water and then they all have a refilling machine in the beverage isle, so you bring your jug in a refill it every week or so and get the good water, instead of buying dozens of plastic bottles (and the other plastic packaging) every time.

Each summer we spend two weeks renting my mom's cousin's cottage and his well water is terrible. It smells really bad and tastes awful - it's not healthy - but he hasn't had money to fix the well. We go to another cottage and fill up our re-used milk jugs every few days. I'm not picky about water, but I can barely standing washing the dishes with the bad water. The lake water looks/smells cleaner than the tap!