Bottled Water Crisis

In 1976 each North American on average drank 1.6 gallons of bottled water per year, by 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons per person (224 bottles).  We pay twice the cost of gasoline per litre for bottled water that is polluting our planet and our bodies.  Time to ask ourselves WHY we are doing this, when we have clean, safe & free water available to us from our taps!

• Environmental Impact 
• 137,000,000 disposable water bottle are consumed per day in the U.S. alone! (Over 50 Billion per year)
• Only 22% of those disposable water bottles will get recycled
• It takes over 700 years for plastic to decompose
• The amount of oil used to produce water bottles each year could fuel over 1,000,000 cars for an entire year

• Personal Health Impact 
• Contrary to popular belief, tap water is more highly regulated and monitored for quality than bottled water
• Bacteria or chemical leaching are safety concerns with virtually all types of plastic water bottles
• Plastic #7 (Clear, brightly colored bottles) leaches BPA (a hormone disruptor that mimics estrogen)
• 91% of Canadians have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies

• Solutions
• Drink Tap Water. People prefer tap water over bottled water 4 out of 5 times in blind taste tests! 
• Use a reusable stainless steel water bottle (Healthier than aluminium & plastic reusable bottles)
• If you don't like drinking tap water, buy a filtered stainless steel water bottle such as Fill2Pure.  I ordered mine for $35 including shipping, and I am loving it! 

Take a stand against the new "social norm" of drinking bottled water!  (Not to sound cheesey) but you really can make a difference! I am ashamed to say, personally, I was guilty of  drinking 3-4 bottles per day at work!  By switching over to a stainless steel bottle, that will save me from consuming over 800 disposable water bottles PER YEAR. 

Post by Dana

Information sources:

www.Back2Tap.com 
Beverage Marketing Corp
Stats Canada

"A Fountain On Every Corner", New York Times