Producing, packaging, and transporting a liter of Bottled Water requires between 1,100 and 2,000 times more energy on average than treating and delivering the same amount of Tap Water. Popularity of bottled water is rising and bottled water has become the drink of choice for many people around the world. Bottled water sales have skyrocketed over the past few years. In 2007, more than 200 billion liters of bottled water were sold worldwide. Carbonated soft drinks are the only bottled beverage that the world consumers buy in greater quantities than bottled water.
The irony, of course, is that a lot of bottled water is little more than just treated piped water which costs you the consumer very less and is much better regulated and more rigorously tested than bottled water.
For the energy analysis, environmental scientists assessed the energy used during each stage of bottled water production. They added up the energy it takes to make a plastic bottle, process the water, label, fill, and seal the bottle then transport bottled water for sale. Their report says that manufacturing and transportation bottled water are the most energy intensive processes involved in putting a bottle of water in your refrigerator. The environmental scientists estimate that just producing the plastic bottles for bottled water consumption worldwide uses 50 million barrels of oil.
Transportation energy consumption is harder to figure, because some water is bottled locally and travels short distances to reach consumers while other brands of bottled water are imported from distant nations, which increases the amount of energy needed to transport them. According to the report, imported bottled water uses about two and a half to four times more energy than bottled water produced locally. It is hard to argue the fact that waste management has become a large problem in the world, with landfills are growing to enormous sizes and recycling rates are remaining very low. The number of plastic bottles produced by the bottled water industry, is simply unthinkable. Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottled water to market severely drains limited fossil fuel energy. Bottled water companies, due to their unregulated use of valuable resources and their production of billions of plastic bottles, have presented a significant strain on the environment.
Therefore, think before you drink bottled water. If you imagine that every bottle of water you drink is about three quarters water and one quarter oil, you will have an accurate picture of how much energy it takes to put that bottle of water into your hand ..
The irony, of course, is that a lot of bottled water is little more than just treated piped water which costs you the consumer very less and is much better regulated and more rigorously tested than bottled water.
For the energy analysis, environmental scientists assessed the energy used during each stage of bottled water production. They added up the energy it takes to make a plastic bottle, process the water, label, fill, and seal the bottle then transport bottled water for sale. Their report says that manufacturing and transportation bottled water are the most energy intensive processes involved in putting a bottle of water in your refrigerator. The environmental scientists estimate that just producing the plastic bottles for bottled water consumption worldwide uses 50 million barrels of oil.
Transportation energy consumption is harder to figure, because some water is bottled locally and travels short distances to reach consumers while other brands of bottled water are imported from distant nations, which increases the amount of energy needed to transport them. According to the report, imported bottled water uses about two and a half to four times more energy than bottled water produced locally. It is hard to argue the fact that waste management has become a large problem in the world, with landfills are growing to enormous sizes and recycling rates are remaining very low. The number of plastic bottles produced by the bottled water industry, is simply unthinkable. Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottled water to market severely drains limited fossil fuel energy. Bottled water companies, due to their unregulated use of valuable resources and their production of billions of plastic bottles, have presented a significant strain on the environment.
Therefore, think before you drink bottled water. If you imagine that every bottle of water you drink is about three quarters water and one quarter oil, you will have an accurate picture of how much energy it takes to put that bottle of water into your hand ..
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