USA Water Filter Blog

If 90 percent of the cost of bottled water comes from the cost of the bottle itself, why do so many pay the premium for plastic?

Is the water supply polluted or foul tasting? According to Richmond County Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Matt Locklear, the answer is no – the water here is neither of those things.

We may not live in Daytona Beach, Florida, 2011 winner of world’s best tasting water contest, but the water here is nothing to frown on, according to Locklear.

“We regulate pH and chlorine levels, keeping them within the neutral zone of 7.0-7.2,” said Locklear. Lemon juice has a pH of about 2, baking soda has a pH of about 8 and pure water without contaminants measures about 7.0 on the pH scale.

Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the U.S. That’s about 38 million water bottles going to the dump every year because 80 percent of plastic bottles are not recycled. It takes 700 years before those plastic bottles begin composting.

“Most water bottles we see come in as waste are 16 oz. size, and those are difficult to get out of the trash stream for recycling if they aren’t already separated when they come in,” said Uwharrie Environmental Recycling Complex Division Manager Joe Reynolds. Most of the County’s garbage has not been separated for recycling , which amounts to a greater amount of bottles hitting the landfill.

 

http://www.yourdailyjournal.com/view/full_story/12488038/article-Bottled-water-vs–tap?instance=home_news_lead

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It all started as an innocent tiff around the water cooler.

Last semester, Hila Landesman posted a sign on the Vermont Pure Natural Spring Water container in the College of Arts & Sciences geography and environment department’s student lounge, saying, “This is bottled water too.” Someone surreptitiously tore it down. But the sign reemerged this semester, this time penned by someone else. A rebuttal was then taped to the cooler noting that heavy metals found in tap water make it unsafe to drink.

The silent water war was getting to Landesman (CAS’12).

“We are the environmental department, yet we have this big container of bottled water sitting there,” she says. The plastic bottles are made from petroleum, shipped long distances, and if not recycled, take years to break down in a landfill—all reasons she thinks her department should boycott them. “There’s a water fountain around the corner from the student lounge. It’s literally seven steps away.”

Landesman shared her concerns with Nathan Phillips, a CAS associate professor of geography and environment, and they decided to end the back-and-forth with a bottled water versus tap water taste test on March 22 in honor of World Water Day.

Weeks before the event, Landesman collected samples of tap water (taken from the George Sherman Union, the FitRec Center, and water fountains in CAS) and bottled water (Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, Poland Spring, Smartwater, and Vermont Pure) and asked the earth sciences department to identify levels of various minerals—such as calcium, magnesium, copper, and lead—found in each. Samples were not tested for microorganisms, pharmaceuticals, or disinfectants.

http://www.bu.edu/today/node/12570

 

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At a university originally built around agriculture, taking care of the earth is of utmost importance. This is why one of the Physical Plant administration’s main goals is to educate and create sustainable behavior among faculty, staff and students.

Rick Krysiak, director of Physical Plant, said there is more to going green than just helping the environment.

“Going green is the touchy-feely buzz phrase that gets everybody’s attention, but helping the environment is just one small piece of the sustainability picture,” Krysiak said.

Krysiak said the financial investment, along with the socioeconomic aspects of going green, is also important in creating a positive foundation for growth.

“With becoming sustainable, it ensures long-term operability at a decent value or price while maintaining and conserving energy resources,” he said. “If we keep operational cost down, that cost correlates with tuition and fees for students.”

Oklahoma State University has saved $15 million with its sustainability projects. Getting students involved in projects such as recycling and turning off lights can continue to help save money and resources, Krysiak said.

Daniel Ferris, director of Utilities and Energy Management, said it is because of the green attitude and behavioral changes with staff members and students that OSU is thriving.

“Faculty, staff, and students are recycling, conserving energy, reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary purchases, and making decisions with sustainability in mind,” he said. “And the university has begun to fully embrace an organizational culture that supports a sustainable community.”

Jeri Fleming, program manager for the Institute of Sustainable Environment, is a staff member who actively participates in the green movement.

“I try and live as sustainable as possible,” Fleming said. “A lot of people think that, ‘If I’m the only one being green, then what difference is it going to make?’ But if you set an example, then others notice and start to follow.”

Fleming said she drinks tap water instead of bottled water to reduce waste, and teaches her grandchildren about the benefits of recycling and being green.

http://www.ocolly.com/what-does-green-mean-1.2121119

 

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With Minnesota’s Goliath budget gap, lawmakers are looking everywhere for savings. One quick and painless cut here in Minnesota, that state lawmakers largely so far have ignored in their own offices, is no longer buying bottled water.

Every year Minnesota’s state government spends about half a million dollars on bottled water, according to an estimate. Buying bottled water reflects badly on our government. It shows our government does not trust our public and has jumbled priorities. Government leaders would rather buy bottled water than provide more money to education or health care.

Soon, Minnesota will have to make tough decisions to balance the budget. Lawmakers should leave bottled water off the tab.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/194656/group/Opinion/

 

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Today is World Water Day, a day that’s sanctioned by the United Nations to focus attention on the importance of fresh, clean water. Currently, out of seven billion people worldwide, more than one billion do not have access to clean water. By the year 2030 a shocking two-thirds of the world will lack access. So what does that mean for you and me and for those of us who do enjoy our clean water? It’s a day to appreciate the water that comes out of our tap.

About eight years ago I drank bottled water on a regular basis. In fact, I bought it in bulk because I thought it was safer and cleaner than the drinking water from my faucet. And that certain water all the way from Fiji? It tasted so different and was such a luxury when I would see it at convenience store. It was so healthy! But as I began to explore my love for the natural environment here in Newport I began to learn some staggering statistics about bottled water that quickly made me change my habits.

Did you know that our tap water is actually safer than bottled water? Yes, even Newport’s tap water. That’s because bottled water is less regulated and often times contains more contaminants. Neither the EPA nor the FDA certify bottled water. Many of the popular labels out there are actually just filtered tap water, which you and I can do in our own homes.

http://newport.patch.com/articles/world-water-day-appreciate-your-tap-water

 

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Water is everywhere, in fact 70% of the planet is water.  Many of us buy bottled water every day, but is there really a difference between buying a bottle of water, or just filling up a bottle with tap water.

Well statistics show that about 40% of bottled water is actually tap water.

Bottled water or tap water? That was the question at hand on Tuesday as folks in the community stopped by a taste test booth on the West Virginia Wesleyan College Campus.

“We are running the tap water challenge, and having people sample different bottled and tap water to see if they can tell the difference,” says Sustatinabilty Team member Jamiela Isaiah who also helped organize .

The majority of the students and faculty who stopped by, couldn’t tell the difference between the water that came from a bottle versus the tap.

“I was surprised actually, I never thought I could be able to tell the difference, and I didn’t,” says WVWC Senior Joe Sassler, and he wasn’t the only one countless others tried it as well, and only a handful were able to correctly guess which was which.

“People are paying up to 200 times more than they would for tap water, and essentially they are paying for something they could actually get out of their own kitchen,” says Nisha Nadkar who also helped organize the event.

If you’re worried about the quality of water from your faucet, Buckhannon Water Treatment Plant Operator, Jerry Myers says you have nothing to worry about.

He says the water is purified and put through numerous tests by the health department.

They plan to have this even again in the future, and believe that they were able to get their message out; drink tap water.

http://www.wdtv.com/index.php/home/local-news/5539-bottled-water-or-tap-can-you-taste-the-difference

 

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State officials plan to ban bottled water as part of a program to rely, instead, on tap water.

Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz says the administration of Governor Peter Shumlin has committed to phasing out bottled water in state buildings. She says bottled water does not fit with the state’s environmental ethic.

(Markowitz) “It’s an understanding that we’re all an integral part of the environment and that we all have to be responsible stewards for this and for future generations. Bottle water is just not consistent with this ethic of environmental stewardship. Think of all the plastic waste and toxic chemicals that’s used to make the plastic. Think of the greenhouse gases emitted from trucks that ship bottles, not just in Vermont but around the world.”

(Host) The state spends more than $200,000 a year on bottled water, though Markowitz concedes that it won’t be eliminated entirely.

Markowitz’s announcement coincided with World Water Day, which was established by the United Nations to focus attention on the importance of fresh water.

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/90394/

 

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Here at the University of Saskatchewan and on campuses across North America, discussions have been mounting over whether or not bottled water should be available. Why is the provision and sale of bottled water such an issue?

There are impacts associated with all of our day-to-day decisions. To better understand these impacts we can ask ourselves questions such as: Where did the materials to make this product come from? How was it produced? What happens to it after we’re done with it?

Answers to these types of questions may illustrate how connected we all are to the global economic market and to broader environmental and social issues.

One of these important daily decisions is whether to drink bottled or tap water.

There are many environmental issues associated with bottled water. A lot of these have to do with the excessive amount of energy, petroleum and resources needed to produce, transport and dispose of bottled water.

For example, a large amount of petroleum is required to produce plastic bottles. Further, the transportation of bottled water (required both in shipping it to the consumer and then shipping it away to be disposed of) uses a lot of energy and leads to carbon emissions. Even plastic bottles that are recycled have an impact on the environment. For example, bottles recycled through Saskatoon’s SARCAN facilities are shipped to Calgary to be chipped and cleaned and are then subjected to further processing elsewhere. These resources are not used to produce the alternative: tap water.

http://thesheaf.com/blog/opinions/2011/03/21/water/

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Bottled water: a trend that began a decade ago and that, a decade later, we cannot seem to live without. Is it the convenience of water on the go? The allure of “purified spring water?” The picturesque mountains on the label that make you want to buy the bottle of water? Whatever the appeal of bottled water that brought the product to great popularity, here are the real facts.

A lot of people say that bottled water tastes better. But did you know that more than half of bottled water comes from municipal water sources — a.k.a. public water that you already pay for in your taxes? This is a fact discretely hidden by the multinational bottled water corporations, a small detail that makes a big difference. Because, why would you ever want to pay even more for the water that you technically already paid for? You should not.

Also, to produce one bottle of water, it takes three amounts of bottled water to do so. While water is a renewable resource, it is certainly not to be frivolously wasted. One glass of water should only take one glass of water to make. With all that extra water wasted — that could be used toward something else in the environment — our world is becoming increasingly more wasteful. Not to mention that the making of bottled water takes 17 billion gallons of oil a year.

Most importantly, water should be free. It is a basic resource necessary to all human beings and should be available to everyone. If we start bottling up water and selling for a profit, we might as well start bottling up air for people to breathe. It is a resource that should be valued for its versatility and vitality but certainly not privatized by industry.

http://www.dailytargum.com/opinions/support-world-water-day-1.2518028

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Environmentalists are heading toAnnapolis to speak out against public spending on bottled water as part of World Water Day events.

Tuesday is World Water Day, established by the United Nations to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and its sustainable management.

Activists with Corporate Accountability International plan to hold an event Tuesday morning on Lawyer’s Mall. Spokeswoman Nelly Baldwin says the group will call on Gov. Martin O’Malley to cut state spending on bottled water. She says that would cut waste and focus spending on public water systems.

Baldwin says other speakers include the co-owner of an Annapolis restaurant that has stopped serving bottled water and the co-founder of the Annapolis Green Drinks chapter, which has stopped using bottled water at its environmental networking events.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bs-md-water-day-20110322,0,1347516.story

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