Avoid bottled water
Humans require at least two litres of drinking water a day to keep our bodies hydrated and with our increasingly busy lifestyles, more and more people are purchasing bottled water. In 2004-05 approximately 550 million litres of bottled water was consumed (Australian Beverage Council). Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled water. Last year, the sale of bottled water increased by 10 percent. While bottled water has become a lucrative business for a few multi-nationals, it has created another hit on the environment and hip pocket for most.
If you’re a consumer of bottled water, the following three areas of concern, may have you questioning and avoiding bottled water:
- Personal health risks. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics used in the common drinking water bottle have been thought of as benign until recent research found that estrogenic compounds leach from the plastic into the water.
- Environmental impact and cost. To produce a single one litre plastic bottle of water requires seven litres of water and 1.5 megajoules of energy. Plastic bottles are made from oil with an estimated 50 million litres of oil used per year in Australia to manufacture the plastic bottles we consume. Out of all plastic bottles approximately 36 per cent are recycled, with over 400 million plastic bottles entering landfill every year.
- Financial Cost. A litre of tap water costs less than 1 per cent of the cost of a litre of bottled water that costs over $2.50 per litre. Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled water. Last year, the sale of bottled water increased by 10 percent, for something that's essentially free!
How to do it now!
Buy a stainless steel drink bottle to refill and reuse. Given the continued health queries about plastic bottles leaching chemicals (i.e. BPA or BIsphenol A) and hormones (i.e. Estrogen), play it save and use a stainless steel bottle.
- Ensure you regularly wash your bottle to avoid bacteria building up.
- Ensure you take it with you when you're going out and about in a car, on foot or on public transport, picnic, event etc.
Drink tap water. Australia’s water is world best in terms of quality with few health problems associated with drinking or refilling straight from the tap.
Use a water filter to clean tap or tank water. In some areas (and times of the year) the chlorine levels and sediment in tap water can concern people. If so, invest in a water filter to purify and improve the quality of your water.
Join the Go Tap Campaign. Go Tap is initiative of ‘Do Something’, and its aim is to get Australians to help the environment by reducing the amount of bottled water that they drink. You can join the campaign by signing up for regular updates and tips on avoiding bottled water.
Why is this action important?
Bottled water is an inefficient way to hydrate our bodies. It consumes over 7 times more water and energy to deliver water to us than the tap. Growing evidence suggests that plastic is not as benign to human health as we were first led to believe, with concerns about estrogenic leaching emerging in the scientific community.