Friday Fact -Bottled Water

The next time you reach for some bottled water, think of these facts:

About 25% of bottled water sold is simply re-processed/used municipal (city) water, including Aquafina from Pepsi Cola and Dasani from Coca-Cola.  Yes, Yes, the next time you reach for them, know that you're getting nothing more than water reprocessed from municipal water systems.   

 

Here's another:  about 22 percent of brands tested contain, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above state health limits.  But even if the water itself is pure, the plastic container is apt to leak chemicals such as phthalates, or Bisphenol A into the water. That's why they have expiration dates noted.  Really? If the dates are on the bottles, my eyes are too weak to find them. Of course, industry associations claim "bottled water can be used indefinitely if stored properly (cool, dark and dry places).

Yet another fact: plastic water bottles are generally recyclable, but around 80% of bottled water bottles sold in the U.S. aren't and they end up in landfills.  Worldwide, recycling rates are even lower: up to 90% of bottles are not recycled.

And finally, there's the matter of getting the bottles to us: in addition to the energy it takes to move a plastic bottle from where it is made to where it is filled, once a bottle is ready to go to market, large amounts of fossil fuel are used delivering it to us. Some bottled water is transported long distances by ship in addition to the distances it travels by truck or rail. 

Overall, the average energy cost to make the plastic...to fill the bottle...to transport it to market...and then to deal with the waste...would be like filling up one quarter of every bottle with crude oil. Think about that! 

Better all the way around to save your money and use metal bottles to make your water portable. There are lots to choose from, including those from Sigg.  Be careful though. Some that have been made in China can contain lead.   

Post Note
Be sure to read Amelia's comment regarding Sigg bottles.  I didn't know or I'd not have used them as an example! Also,  for daily eco-friendly tips, read my friend Shannon's blog Going Crunchy. They're good and oftentimes pretty simple...really!

 

Comments

[Amelia Royko Maurer]

Hi there.

While made in China,some bottles are perfectly safe grade #394 Stainless Steel like Klean Kanteen. Sigg bottles on the other hand are lined with epoxy.

I am sorry to say, Sigg does not test their liner properly to call it proven safe for 0% leaching.

The liner in Sigg's aluminum bottle is a water based EPOXY resin. Sigg no longer calls it EPOXY for obvious reasons but they used to. They eliminated the word EPOXY because all anyone has to do is look it up and find that Bisphenol A is it's main ingredient.

Bisphenol-A , the cancer-causing main ingredient for polycarbonate is also the main ingredient for your epoxy resin. This is why Sigg tests for leaching Bisphenol A. They test for leaching by heating the liner up - which is one way to test for leaching. The problem is, Bisphenol A can leach in quantities that are undetectable by scientific tools but very potent to the immune system. One tenth of one trillionth of a gram of Bisphenol a can be detrimental the the sexual development of a fetus. The only way you can sufficiently test for this kind of leaching is by observing an animal after it ingests a liquid contained in a SIgg bottle over a period of time. Sigg does not perform tests such as these and therefor cannot ethically refer to it's bottles as "safe".

Don't wait for popular news sources to tell you this- you might be waiting for a long time. It took 10 years before the FDA would recognize the dangers of Bisphenol-A/Polycarbonate.

This is the interview with the scientist who discovered the dangers posed by BPA/Polycarbonate 10 years ago. The FDA chose to ignore his and many other studies. Instead they chose to use studies done by the industry that was producing BPA which I don't need to say, is an obvious conflict of interest. Well, this is exactly what Sigg has done. And to top it off, they test for BPA but won't disclose the ingredients of their liner.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/nature/interviews/vomsaal.html

The best unbreakable option for a bottle is #304 stainless steel. I sell them, and Sigg might also. I don't care where folks get them - I just want to promote true product safety.

Kind Regards,

Amelia Royko Maurer
http://www.freemarketorganics.com

[June]

Thanks so much Amelia for setting things straight...I really appreciate your sharing your expertise!

[CountryDew]

Wow, June, what an eye-opening post - as well as the comments from Amelia. I swear, everything around us will kill us one day. Very informative post.

[Rob]

Yes, you caught me. The stump pic was takne in November. i recycled the photo for visual consumption. (Plus I have little spare time lately to get out with camera).

A great post! I always have laughed at people buying bottled water at such a high price, then complain about the price of gasoline. We too have heard about the plastic water bottle blight and danger. Thinking we would be safe, we switched to Nalgene water bottles and fill them from local tap water sources. Yet Nalgene is plastic leaching into our water. Thanks for the link to the metal bottles.

[sandy kessler]

wow what commentary education- I do not know what to do our filtrated water tastes like chemicals

[Michelle]

Great post. I've recently added a water filter at home and no longer buy bottled water.

[Michelle]

Great post. I've recently added a water filter at home and no longer buy bottled water.

[Becca]

June, thanks for this informative post. I've stopped using bottled water, but I haven't found a good alternative for taking water with me. I had heard the Sigg bottles were not "pure" either. Now, thanks to Amelia's comment, and know where else to look.

"Spatter" is becoming the place to come for interesting and important info about life in general!

[Going Crunchy]

Excellent article June. Thanks!

I'm also going to check into more information too. Though I totally agree (YEAH) about plastic, researching the safety of the "metal" bottles also seems to be very important too.

I'm going to put this post in the Crunchy Spotlight, and Amelia's follow up post is really good as well. Shannon

[bluemountainmama]

great and informative. people need to be aware of this. i think we need to do away with bottled water and plastic bags, but i don't know what would replace the plastic containers for the water. people would still want to buy water.

[Going Crunchy]

I think once you just get used to not having the option you go back to using water fountains or just preparing. I have six metal water bottles now and that is plenty, even for a longer trip. We just refill. There are fountains and sinks everywhere.

I've also replaced plastic bags with canvas, and I have waxed paper bags for when I need a "bag" for snacks. I freeze things in glass jars or pyrex now and rarely, if ever use tupper style plastic.

I'd say trying not to use tupper plastic was the hardest. The water bottle thing is actually very easy to do away with. Better for your health, environment and pocketbook.

[colleen]

I'm so discouraged about plastic and still can't even believe we have to buy water, a natural resource that once was so pure and plentiful.

I did answer your question about the COLD weather on my blog.