Science Scene - The End of Bottled Water?

The environmental arguments against bottled water are gaining more traction, and people are starting to question whether bottled water is really worth it, financially and environmentally. Recent sales reflect a drop in consumer demand for bottled water.

Overall, the bottled water industry in the United States has expanded at a phenomenal rate, though the market dipped slightly last year. Retail sales of single-serving plastic bottles increased from 1.4 billion gallons in 2000 to 5.2 billion gallons last year. And, over the past decade, per-capita consumption of bottled water in the U.S. has more than doubled to about 200 bottles per year, per person.

Sales of reusable aluminum and stainless steal water bottles are up. But the bottled water industry is enormous, estimated at about $16 billion, and reusable water bottles are a mere drop in the bucket. It would take a mass exodus of people using refillable water bottles to take away the significant market share of the bottled water industry.

The benefits of using reusable water bottles far outweigh the costs. Among these benefits are: energy savings and reduced emissions (processing, packaging, distribution) and reduced waste (less plastic in landfills equals less pollution). Furthermore, tap water saves people lots of money –- bottled water is 1,900 times more expensive than tap water.

We do our share by using stainless steel bottles here for our workouts, and I have one at work also.  How about you?