Why bottled water is good for the environment

Drinking bottled water is a much more ecological choice than consuming soft drinks, coffee, fruit juice or beer. Water drinkers should be praised instead of criticized.

Bottled water is under attack from environmentalists who preach that tap water has a similar quality and saves a lot of energy since it does not need to be transported by trucks. That might be true, but bottled water is not our biggest problem when it comes to drinking habits.

All other beverages consume huge amounts of water and energy during their production processes, which makes their ecological impact far more detrimental than that of bottled water. Like bottled water, most of them are distributed in bottles and cans, too. (Illustration: plan59)

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The new smokers

Bottled water has become one of the most powerful symbols of unsustainable practices. Giles Coren, an English food journalist, has coined bottled water drinkers “the new smokers”.

These fierce criticisms are understandable. After all, most western countries have good quality tap water, which makes bottled water (often from the same water sources) a bit of an absurdity. But, denouncing bottled water misses the point.

Indeed, trucking around tap water in plastic bottles creates unnecessary energy use and waste. However, so does trucking around Coca-Cola, Stella Artois and Chivas Regal. It is unfair to solely blame water even though it also happens to be distributed via pipes.

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"Switching from other beverages to bottled water would yield much more environmental profit than switching from bottled water to tap water"

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More importantly, all other beverages use vast amounts of water and energy to produce, while water - even bottled water - does not. It takes water to grow crops, and it takes energy to fertilize, harvest and transport them.

Breweries use water and energy too. It takes 35 litres of water to produce one cup of tea, and 140 litres of water to produce one cup of coffee. When you add sugar in your coffee or tea, it gets even worse: every teaspoonful of sugar requires 50 cups of water to grow.

A glass of beer takes 75 litres of water to produce, while just one glass of wine asks 120 litres of water. One glass of fruit juice or milk requires 170 to 200 litres of water. A glass of brandy asks 2,400 litres of water (all numbers taken from these sources).

Tea and coffee

Producing one litre of bottled water simply requires a litre of water, and no energy. Yes, producing and distributing the water bottles does use water and energy, but the same goes for other beverages.

This means that bottled water is a more ecological choice than all other bottled options: beer, wine, milk, fruit juice or soft drinks. Most likely, drinking bottled water is an even better choice than drinking coffee or tea made with tap water - coffee and tea might weigh less than water, but they are transported over much larger distances.

The only undisputable better choice than bottled water is tap water. Forcing bottled water drinkers to drink tap water would help the environment – but switching from other beverages (none of them essential to human health) to bottled water would yield much more environmental profit.

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"It is unfair to solely blame water even though it also happens to be distributed via pipes"

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Environmental groups always have something to say about the huge (and growing) amounts of bottled water that are being sold, and the huge amount of energy that is needed to transport them. These figures might be accurate, but bottled water holds only a small share of the market for bottled drinks.

The energy needed to transport soft drinks and beer is far more impressive. The main problem here is not bottled water. The main problem is that most people don’t drink water, but prefer soft drinks, fruit juice, coffee, beer or energy drinks instead.

This message, however, is not so popular because most of us like to discuss the environmental problems of this planet over a couple of beers, or wines, or coffees.

Pariahs

Don’t get me wrong. This is not a plea for everyone to start drinking bottled water instead of tap water. Drinking tap water should be encouraged. But people who prefer to drink bottled water should not be treated as pariahs, because they are making a much more ecological choice than those of us who choose to consume other beverages.

© Kris De Decker (edited by Shameez Joubert)

Comments (28)

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Comments

[Sam F.]

(28)

I'm sorry. I see your point that a coke drinker cannot criticize a bottled-water drinker, but that doesn't mean that one still shouldn't suggest that a bottled-water drinker should drink tap water.

Let's say that you are in one room with the curtains shut tight and the light on, and I am in another doing something equally wasteful, like playing videogames. Yes, sure, we are both wasting energy. Yes, sure, it would be hypocritical for me to tell you to stop wasting energy. But can't I still suggest that you open the curtains to let light in?

If you would be getting the exact same enjoyment as you are getting now (seeing light, or drinking water) and use much much less energy doing it, why shouldn't I suggest that you do it?

Everyone consumes energy. Having kids (adding people to the planet) is the most energy-consuming thing anyone can do. But does that mean that someone with kids can't tell the guy who has the heaters on full with all the windows and doors open that he's wasting energy?

Yes, drinking coke consumes energy. But drinking bottled water not only consumes energy but it does so _completely unnecessarily_, making it much more _wasteful_, because you could get the exact same enjoyment with tap water.

[seth]

(27)

This is a serious issue. Disregard for the moment the environmental impact of consuming water, the real problem is the environmental impact of going into communities, and pumping all the water out of it. Especially third world nations. Just watched this film: http://flowthefilm.com/ Did not expect to run into this article, which seems to have no mention of these implications. On the other hand, I'm not sure what environmental damage is caused from the creation of a soda product..

[Per Hassel Sorensen]

(26)

Kris,
Thank you for your excellent job writing this article. This is very important information that is unkown for most people. Unfortunately it seems from the comments that many people does not understand your point that the carbon footprint from drinking water from a bottle is much less than drinking coca-cola or juice from the same bottle.

[The Black Adder]

(25)

i had a friend who used to jog behind the bus on the way to work and save $2 bus fare. When he got fitter he'd jog behind a taxi and save $30. Same logic.

[Chuck]

(24)

90+% of the time when I drink colas, it is from a fountain drink machine, which I assume has tap water as input. Better that than bottled water? Time to pull out the spreadsheets...

[Njmalhq]

(23)

In underdeveloped countries with dysfunctional or non-existent municipal water supplies -- which incidentally is where the bulk of mankind lives -- bottled drinking water is a boon. In the past several decades the municipal water situation in these places has gotten from bad to worse to unbelievable. It isn't likely to get better any time soon. For whatever reason large centralized distribution systems don't have much of a hope of working in these places (this problem isn't limited to water alone, BTW. Electricity for example is another one.) Distribution in bottles is far more decentralized than municipal water systems, and seems to be working much better at making clean water widely available.

Before bottled water showed up on the scene, there wasn't really a substitute for soda. Between 1990 and 1995 I worked in Lagos/Nigeria, where the only reason I never caught various horrible diseases (unlike some of my buddies who weren't so careful) is because I only drank soda. But that benefit came at a long term cost. It did terrible things to my metabolism. I gained a lot of weight that took years to shake off. Last time I was in the region, about 4 years ago, I was really glad to see bottled water commonly available. This time, that is all I drank. No sickness. No weight gain.

[Google master]

(22)

heyy realy great site i use it for all my information thanks for all the help.

[kdd]

(21)

You do have a choice: drink tap water instead of Coke.

And please read other people's comments before you react.

[timbo]

(20)

This is stupid - you can drink water from a bottle or from the tap so you have a choice.
you can only drink coke etc from a bottle or a can, not a tap so their is no choice. your argument does not hold up.

[kdd]

(19)

Richard, you want better arguments?

You and me are sitting on a terrace. I am drinking bottled water. You are drinking bottled Coca-Cola. Same kind of bottle.

You tell me that I cannot drink bottled water because I could also drink tap water. Correct. But you could also drink tapwater instead of Coca-Cola. True, or not?

You are allowed to waste a bottle, I am not. But we both have the same alternative: tap water.

If I would drink a Coke, just like you, you would not bother telling me that I am a problem for the environment. But the result is the same: a plastic bottle is wasted.

If I throw loads of sugar in my water (what else is Coca-Cola?), suddenly I am allowed to use a plastic bottle. Weird.

[Richard]

(18)

Kris, the simple fact is that drinking bottled water is far far far more wasteful than drinking tap water. Beer, coffee, tea, etc are not relevant because they are consumed regardless of what water source is used.

Furthermore, claiming that we must solve "all" the problems associated with distribution of consumable products before we are allowed to criticize one in particular is disingenuous in the extreme.

If you want to be taken seriously, you are going to have to come up with better arguments than this.

[Speaking Spirit]

(17)

CONGRATULATIONS!
This is the sort of articles we need to write and this is the sort of attitude we need to have.
I am so annoyed of the ignorant people debunking bottled water.
I believe these consumers should be praised for choosing this healthier option than a toxic coca-cola or any other soft drink, energy drink and juice filled with so many chemicals and additives.
The lack of real education about our health, possibly from the influence of drug companies, leaves people so uneducated about how dehydrated people are, if only people know that most diseases and health challanges are due to dehydration, if only they knew that their taste buds or their thinking and buying patterns are owned by the billion dollar food and beverage industries, then they would also choose bottled water rather than energy drinks, soft drinks, etc.
There is a big push by the western government to use more tap water, as we are heading more into harder times, governments wants us to be fluoridated, as this makes people docile, it has nothing to do with teeth, research this yourself.
I live in a city that boasts one of the best tap waters, yet it has 53 chemicals in it including chlorine and fluoride, plus the bad taste.
for what ever reason people choose water, whether from a bottle or not, it should be encouraged.
What we should be banning is the soft drinks as they attribute to causing tooth decay, obesity and many other health issues.
WAKE UP people. Educate yourself before you base an opinion. Don't be a sheep and copy your opinion from those who have a political agenda.

As for myself, I have been in the health industry for over 38 years.
I have the facility to test water and I have tested many.
While most bottled water actually come from the tap, so you are paying a fee for the convenience to have those. There are actually some brilliant and some very healthy bottled water brands out there.

One of the most important thing when it come to having a vibrant health is to make sure you lead a balanced lifestyle and maintain an alkaline diet as disease thrives in an acidic environment. So if our bodies are made up of 70 - 80% of water, and you continue to drink acidic beverages like soft/soda drinks, energy drinks, alcohol, etc. you know you are heading downhill, it makes sense to eat your greens ( alkaline foods) and most importantly to drink Natural Alkaline Mineral Water, I did say Natural, they reason I said that is , there are a lot of companies who use tap water with all its chemicals and additives and add alkaline minerals to make the water alkaline and there are other people who use a machine to do the same thing. I've tested most of these waters and the the purest and healthiest water is again Natural Alkaline Mineral Water, however you can get hold of this water, in a bottle or not, this is the water to drink.
And before you guys say, water is water, you are wrong until you test and drink this water, then give me your opinion.

To your health.
NO ACIDIC DRINKS
GO WATER
GO BOTTLED WATER

[kris de decker]

(16)

Nothing beats aluminum when it comes to recycling. You can recycle it forever, unlike paper and plastic. But I am afraid that only a small part of the cans makes it to the recycling plant. And even if it is half of them, this still means that a huge amount of this material is wasted. This could be solved, I guess.

[Elise]

(15)

If you leave tap water in a pitcher, the chlorine evaporates off. If you put the pitcher in the refrigerator and add a slice of lemon, you've got yourself a treat.
Or if need be, there are numerous good filter set-ups.
Does it make any difference if you only drink sodas from aluminum cans, which recycle so well?

[kris de decker]

(14)

I advise you to read the other comments because others have made the same point before and I already replied to it.

As for the amount of plastic bottles that I personally have consumed in my life, the answer is simple: none. I drink tap water, not bottled water. I think bottled water is a waste of money and I don't feel like carrying all that weight from the supermarket to my appartment.

I wrote this article after I had been criticising someone who insists on drinking bottled water (and nothing else but bottled water). She gave me the answer I summarized in this article, and that left me pretty much without anything to say, because she is right.

I might not drink bottled water, but I consume litres of coffee, fruit juice, beer and wine, so my drinking habits are worse for the environment than hers.

About "the impact of manufacturing and bottling of the water, and the 1000 years it takes for the stupid plastic bottle to decompose, while it leaches toxic chemicals to the ground": the same is true for other bottled drinks, which was my whole point.

[Zig]

(13)

The comparison in the article is absurd. Coca Cola does not come out of my tap, WATER does. If someone wants to drink water, its easy to make the choice to drink tap water instead of bottled water, compare apples to apples please.
Also, the article minimizes the impact of manufacturing and bottling of the water, and the 1000 years it takes for the stupid plastic bottle to decompose, while it leaches toxic chemicals to the ground. Have you ever visualized where are the hundreds of plastic bottles that YOU have consumed over your lifetime? They are all somewhere, and will be there for the next 1000 years.

[Jinx]

(12)

Also, some people cannot tolerate fluoridated water.

Although my city claims to have great water, by the time it travels through the 100 year old pipes, my water tastes HORRIBLE. I used a pool ph kit on my tap water, and the hardness was OFF THE SCALE!!! Like above 12. And for some reason, our "chlorine free" tap water comes out smelling like bleach.

There IS a big difference between bottled 'drinking water', which IS just purified tap water, and 'spring water', which is not tap water at all. Also, knowing what has been pulled out of Lake Arrowhead as far as junk, I don't drink Arrowhead water anymore...

I've tried filtering the tap water, that is ok in some areas of my city, but not up here. So I buy bottled water, and it is the only thing I drink 98% of the time.

Thanks for this article.

[Ruben]

(11)

apples to apples please. The only logical conclusion here is that we should stop doing something, ie: drinking beer or tea.

If we are really going to start proscribing things, lets start by not building inefficient homes and stop driving around in private automobiles.

[Fschwep]

(10)

Often, people use bottled (flat) water as an alternative to tap water in areas where the tap water is either suspect, contains too much calcium to make a decent cup of tea of coffee, or just outrights tasted horrible even when it is technically safe to drink. They carry dozens of plastic bottles of cheap flat water home so they have decent water to make a hot drink or to cook with - or just as flat table water with a meal. In that sense, a lot of bottled water is sold as a result of a shortage in truly drinkable tap water.
Luxury waters like Perrier or 'Iceberg water' are of course as bad (morally if not technically) as a Coke.
One can make a perfectly good, ecologically sound cup of herbal tea using herbs from one's own yard or from a meadow nearby - but you need good quality water to do that. In some areas that probably means bottled water.

[Kris De Decker]

(9)

Drinking Chivas Regal from the tap would still be much worse for the environment than drinking bottled water, since it takes several thousands of liters of water to produce a liter of whiskey. You obviously don't get the point.

[engineer dave]

(8)

Give me Chivas Regal from a tap and I will stop buying it in bottles.

The fact of the matter is that water can be gotten from a tap so getting it from a bottle is completely unnecessary and a waste of resources. The other beverages that you talk about have no alternative that drinking from a bottle so thats how they come.

The argument that drinking any of them out a a bottle is "good" for the environment is wrong. Just some are less bad than others.

[Kris De Decker]

(7)

I'm sorry Fred

[Fred]

(6)

but I like beer

[Rachel]

(5)

hey thanxs great article really help me with my gcse project.

[Kris De Decker]

(4)

I don't know, Bill. I like your comparison with the light bulb, but is there really a difference? I mean, the result is the same: consumption of energy. And has someone who reads serious literature more right to use electricity than someone who reads pulp fiction?

You say that the bottled water drinker needlessly chooses to waste energy. But so does the beer or fruit juice drinker. Because he or she could also choose to drink water. Soft drinks or fruit juice are not essential to human health. Water is.

[Bill]

(3)

The obvious difference, of course, is that soft drinks and fruit juices aren't available from taps in every building. The bottled water drinker has the option to procure his beverage of choice at a lower cost and with less use of energy and resources, and stupidly and needlessly chooses to waste money, resources and energy even though there is no benefit at all to himself. The drinker of soft drinks or fruit juices doesn't have the same option. Two people are each burning a light bulb; one because he's using the light to read by, and the other just for the hell of it. Only the latter is wasting energy.

[Kris De Decker]

(2)

I can follow your logic, Chris. But then you end up in a situation where you tell me not to drink water from a bottle, while you are sipping your Coke. You are allowed to use a bottle, because there is no alternative. I am not allowed to use a bottle, because there is. But your Coke is more damaging to the planet anyway. So how are you ever going to convince me that I can not use a bottle? You would only have a chance to do that if you stop drinking Coke and switch to tap water yourself. Then you have a right to speak. You can not solve the bottled water issue without solving the complete bottled drinks issue. Easy solutions do not exist.

[Chris]

(1)

This makes no sense. People who drink bottled water are not "making a much more ecological choice than those of us who choose to consume other beverages". If you buy a bottled drink then you impact the environment, but water is available for a greatly reduced price at ubiquitous sources. Other such drinks are neither much lower in price or available from other resources. Although other bottled drinks make a bigger impact on a bottle-by-bottle basis the bottled waters are of less necessity given their ubiquitous, cheap, and taste-identical status - so they are a highly cullable part of the bottled drinks phenomenan.

The point is not that it is larger problem than other drinks - it's not - just that it is completely unnecessary and far easier to solve.