When you casually twist the cap off bottled water, do you stop to wonder whether it’s safe and healthy? Well, the fact is, it’s not good for you, it’s not good for your pocketbook and it’s not good for your planet, either. Fresh, clean water from a Big Berkey water filter is the wholesome alternative.
The Case Against Bottled Water
Here are 10 shocking facts that might make you think twice next time you reach for a plastic bottle.
- Bottled water sells for thousands of times more than tap water. A gallon of tap water costs less than a penny while bottled water is over 11 bucks per gallon. If your water company charged the water bottle price, your bill would be around $9000 per month.
- Ever think about making a few bucks by filling your empty plastic bottle from a tap and reselling it? Lots of bottlers do just that. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) conducted a four-year study and found that 25 percent of bottled water comes right from the municipal supply.
- At least bottled water tastes better, right? Not so! In fact, when blind taste tests offered bottled and tap in identical containers, the majority of people preferred the taste of tap water.
- The clean-looking plastic bottle doesn’t mean the product inside is pure. In testing a large sample, the NRDC found that 33 percent didn’t comply with state and EPA water quality guidelines. Furthermore, some plastic contains phthalates that can leach into the water, which can disrupt hormones and interfere with sex and reproduction.
- Each individual bottle may be small, but taken together they make for a whole lot of plastic. Over 200 billion are used each year worldwide. Over 40 billion of those are emptied and tossed in the United States alone.
- Bottle wastage isn’t getting any better. In fact, despite efforts to the contrary, single-bottle use continues to rise. The numbers have been going up since 1976 and show no signs of slowing.
- Plastic bottles can be recycled, but most of them aren’t. A National Geographic study concluded that 91 percent of plastic goods either find their way to landfills or are just tossed along side the road.
- Those bottles in landfills and throughout the countryside aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Scientists estimate they’ll take 400 to 1,000 years to decompose. If the American Pilgrims had discarded plastic bottles on Plymouth Rock, they might still have hundreds of years left in them.
- Plastic water bottles contribute to global warming. It’s been estimated that the carbon footprint of a plastic bottle is the equivalent of filling the same bottle about a quarter full with oil.
- Ironically, producing water bottles wastes water. The manufacture of one plastic bottle takes twice the amount of water that fits inside.
Reward Your Body with a Big Berkey Water Filter
Our bodies are mostly water, and we need clean, pure water to feel and perform our best. The earth needs it, too. Leave those plastic bottles on the grocery shelf and fill your glass or permanent bottle with pure, uncontaminated water from a Berkey water purifier. You’ll be glad you did, and future generations will thank you as well.
