7gen Bloc

you've all undoubtedly seen this photograph - of children sorting through a literal mountain of water bottles in the Philippines. Even domestically - on a recent trip to Baltimore, the "gate" at one end of the harbor collected hundreds of water bottles, and a small garbage scow came to pick them up at least once a day. Water quality and transport aside - the waste is forever. A 2003 study showed that 40 million custom plastic bottles were going into landfill each day.

No one looks forward to the demise of the bottled water industry more than me, and I'm pretty sure I answered the treehugger poll the way the majority did, but things are seldom so simple. Last week, I saw Peter Seligman speak, and he talked about how (and why) Conservation International is working with Fiji Water. Basically, the CI position is that the production/bottling of Fiji Water helps preserve the environmental purity of its source, as well as provide revenue for the neighboring communities. It's a sustainable model, but only as long as there is market demand for the product. As for me, I'd rather drink a liter of Tabasco sauce than water that's been shipped 8,000 miles, but I'm willing to admit there are gray areas in the discussion, and vilification is seldom as easy as it seems.

OK, so the treehuggers at treehugger hate bottled water. What a revelation!

On one hand I think bottled water's use is way too prevalent. But on the other hand, it's very unlikely that the majority of consumers will sacrifice the convenience of bottled water until prices go way up.

I agree with hankster; vilifying all bottled water is painting the issue black and white.

Fiji water is bottled in plastic, which is made from oil. Oil is a limited resource. Bottled Water is unsustainable.

I'm getting a little tired of reading articles where everyone is being lumped into the pronoun "we" when describing those who ignoratly create waste. I, for one, refill plastic water bottles with tap water until they are mis-shapen, then recycle them. The last time I actually bought bottles water was almost 3 years ago in Bradenton, Florida where the water is undrinkable - my husband and I both got sick! These lables do not account for individual circumstances such as this, and it's becong rather disturbing that all these Seventh Generation articles are bring written with a "holier-than-thou" inflection that really does make us all look bad.

In reference to other recent articles, I donate unwanted clothing to charity, as I'm sure many others do also, and I don't think anyone buys food with the intention to throw it out!

I love Seventh Generation products, but I'm starting to feel a little intimidated...I'm ready to apologize, and I haven't even done anything!

With all the great reusable bottles options available, it's easy to avoid disposable bottled water altogether. Nubiusorganics.com has a good selection and coupon code ECO15 will save you 15%!

Though it may not be green, bottled spring water is undoubtedly healthier than many municipalities' tap water. For example, where I live (in Iowa) children and nursing mothers are discouraged from drinking the tap water due to high concentrations of nitrates and other contaminants resulting from modern commercial agriculture. Most tap water is also treated with chlorine, contains fluoride and a cocktail of prescription drugs! Where do we draw the line? Instead of vilifying bottled water shouldn't we be demanding uncontaminated tap water for everyone? In our house at least, health comes before anything else, and in spite of our reliance on bottled water we manage to use far less petroleum products than the average family by making other adjustments to our lifestyle.

Having tested bottled water as a food technologist while working for a major grocery chain, I disagree with any blanket generalization that states tap water is better than bottled water.

While testing water that we bottled for sale in a grocery chain, I had access to 3rd party lab tests on the tap water and the drinking water that was made from it by distillation. The tap water used was definitely full of various chemical contaminants. The drinking water was significantly better! And taste also told the difference! For sure, tap water quality varies from city to city.

Our company also trucked-in "purified water" which a 3rd party lab also tested. In addition, our lab tested it for total solids in-house. The purified water had the least chemical contamination as the standards are less than 10 parts per million, if I remember correctly.

There is a lot of controversy about what type of water is best to drink. There are some commercially prepared waters that have certain molecular structures that are probably the best.

Meanwhile, based on my budget and resources, I continue to buy large containers of distilled water for consumption use. I've added by own minerals at times.

In the near future, I will purchase a table-top glass distiller and distill tap water for consumption. I think that's my best option economically as it cuts down plastic waste from bottles. Plus from various scientific literature, it's apparent that plastic leaches into water and food in various amounts related to storage times and temps, etc.

Connie
B.S. Food Science

I used to be a bottled water addict. Some of that comes from living in New York right on the Hudson River (really, would you drink the water in the Hudson even if it had been "treated"? I don't think so!). But since moving back to the Midwest, I've tried to drink less bottled water and more tap water. I invested in a water pitcher with a filter. It gives you the same great taste as bottled water, but is much cheaper and is better for the environment, as long as you properly recycle the filters. Will I ever not completely buy bottled water? Probably not, but I can hope so. As long as there are cheaper and more environmentally sound options out there, then I will try to use them. And I agree with lemurian, we should be talking to our legislators and demanding that they make tap water safe for everyone to drink!

The water in our area (Jackson, MS) is terrible and we don't want to buy bottled water either. We have a PUR water filter attached to refrigerator that filters the tap water to delicious clear water. We each have reusable water bottles that we fill as often as needed with the filtered water and the bottles are dishwasher safe.

Most tap and well water is polluted. Even a "state of the art" purification system may not suffice - and is very expensive. A friend put in the best and still got heart fibrillation. A water distiller, available at about $130, will provide clean water and, although it uses electricity, saves gazillions of bottles - and our health.

I live in a rural area so we have well water...not the cleanest well water either. You can actually taste the dirt. Needless to say, I will not drink it straight from the tap. Even more importantly is that I mix my children's juice half/half with water. I started buying bottled water. I decided it wasn't working for us (environmentally and economically, since I'm a stay-at-home mom). I bought a Brita pitcher, but I'm wondering if that's really the solution. Would it be better to keep buying the filters for the Brita or to just buy gallon-sized bottled water? Any insight?

While bottled water may not be "green" and the advertizing false let's look at the bigger issue here and not vilify the manufacturers. Why is our municipal water so unsafe? In our area the water if full of chlorine and fluoride- are you aware that the amount of chlorine in an 8oz glass of water is enough to seriously poison a grown adult if it wasn't diluted? Why would I want to put that in my body!? Fluoride can also cause serious issues when ingested. Then there's the deeper issue-why aren't these plastic bottles being recycled??? why are we allowing them to go to the landfills? We could hire people to sort the garbage before it goes to landfills which would create jobs and clean up the environment.

Until we start looking at the big picture the real issues will never be solved.

Well I hate to burst your green bubbles but my family is drinking bottled water. Our hand dug well water got contaminated during flooding last year. With all the rain and flooding this year we are stuck. We have tested and tested to the point that the testing company told us our water will never test clean. A new water meter from the county costs alone $5000 and to hook up another $10,000. The rural water has been fined numerous times for bad water so we are not hooking up to it. For the past year we have been drinking bottled water. No choice. When we can we get water from the local park in huge water containers. We want to move but are in limbo for now.

I try to drink as much Brita- or PUR-filtered tap water as I can. I think it's insane to pay an exuberant amount of money to pay for "artisan" water. Aside from the traveling costs, if more people recycle the plastic bottles, would that help the environment a little bit? The three million cans of bottles mentioned in the article--are those just the ones people chunked in their trash? Do we also need to work on recycling? On the other hand, I do often wonder if more people are switching to drink water more than to drink soft drinks, which cause a lot of health problems in our society.

I understand the current issue of drinking bottled water, because of all the resources it consumes by just getting to you from its source alone. The issue i have, though, is transporting water from my tap around with me on my errands. Many of the nalgene bottles today have been deemed unusable, becuase of numerous chemicals in the plastic that pollut the water. If these can't be used anymore, what's the best alternative for a water bottle??

1) Proponents of ending or curtailing bottled water consumption often site the cleanliness and/or purity of regular tap water. Most places I have been to, however - and I have been all over the country - do not have this clean and pure tap water of which they speak. Tap water contains Chlorine, Fluoride, Chloramines, dissolved metals, unidentified particulate matter, and a host of other contaminants that are either usually at levels considered "safe for the general public" (a dubious measurement at best) or are simply not tested for, which is downright scairy. All that aside, tap water tends to taste bad, and I would rather not drink something that tastes bad.

2) If people weren't drinking bottled water, they'd be drinking bottled something else. How about we just be happy that it's water and not a sugary beverage?

I stopped buying bottled still water years ago, but must admit to a love of sparkling water, especially San Pellegrino. We used to go through about a case of it a week in my house, but the thought of shipping those heavy bottles all the way from Italy really started to bother me, so I began looking for alternatives. What I found is a product called "Soda Club," a system with a good sized CO2 tank that let's you carbonate filtered water. It was about $100 for the kit, including shipping. A single tank makes about 110 liters of carbonated water. Replacement tanks are about a third of the initial cost, so I figure I'm not only saving on materials/energy, but also a good amount of money and effort lugging around cases of sparkling water. These are the kinds of alternatives people need to change behavior. here's a blog post I did on it with pictures.

If there is one thing that we all need to do more of is research. If you don't know what you are talking about then don't misguide the public. Now more than ever in the "green" community we need to be more conscious about our actions and statements.

I worked in the water treatment industry for several years. The municipal water supplies in the US are in for a rude awakening one of these days. I am sure some are better than others but the ones that I have tested in North Carolina are not suitable for drinking. At times during the summer the chlorine levels reach 3 times the suggested level for a swimming pool. Also there is no way to filter out all the prescription drugs. If you drink from a municipal water supply you are most likely are getting some sort of description drug.

For many of us bottled "spring water" is the only alternative to municipal water. At home we drink reverse osmosis water and use refillable water containers. But there are several occasions during the week that we have to use bottled spring water.

If we all recycled our plastic bottles there would not be any in the landfills..........

I would be totally happy to stop drinking bottled water, but I am really concerned about Fluoride in our US tap water. Fluoride is an artificial matter added to the water for "better teeth"... The truth is that fluoride is poisonous. Several studies show how fluoride affects brains in studies conducted on rats. Excessive ingestion of fluoride during the early childhood years can damage the tooth-forming cells, leading to a defect in the enamel known as dental fluorosis. Water Purifiers like Brita or PUR do not remove fluoride from water and they seem to proud of it! The only way to remove fluoride from water is to use a "reverse osmosis" water purification system. The only problem with this is that in order to get a gallon of purified water about 3-5 gallons go to waste. In this era of water scarcity this may not be the best solution, but I think we should do something to have better health. Many European countries don't use fluoride in their tap water and dental health is not an issue. Our diet and dental hygiene will make a difference. Natural sources of fluoride are green and white tea, and some toothpaste is made with fluoride from natural sources.
If you are still buying bottled water at least try to purchase gallon size bottles, possibly made of very thin HDPE (number 2 in the triangle)like the ones you find at Whole Foods, and in many states they can be redeemed at the store, making sure those bottles are properly reused or recycled.
To get more info on Fluoridated Water and to sign a petition to stop the poisoning of our waters visit:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2477/t/2782/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21960

And please pass this on to all the people you love...

Yes, plastic bottles in the trash, on the streets and in our waterways is a majoy concern. But it's not just water, folks! If we're going to ban bottled water, we need to ban all bottled drinks - teas, sodas, coffees and anything else in plastic. Much of the bottled water consumed at parks and events is replacing the soda that people used to drink due to it's portability. I never buy bottled water, but if I'm at an event and have a choice between as bottle of soda or water, I'll take the water everytime. I do, of course, reuse and recycle the bottles. Maybe the answer is glass with a deposit again. But then glass breaks and many parks don't allow it.

It's not as simple as banning bottled water. And where I live many people don't speak English and by the looks of the trash all over my neighborhood parks and streams, don't care about the environment in which they live.

I also use PUR- filtered tap water but if people are wanting water straight from the source why not buy Sparklettes water? It comes straight to your door in a HUGE jug that you put on a dispenser. When you are done you leave the jug on your doorstep for recycling and they will deliver more water. No more bottles in the landfill. Problem Solved.

Like Sparletts, we drive to the nearby Culligan purification plant and buy 7-8, 5-gallon jugs at a time and put them on a dispenser, then refill our reusable bottles before leaving the house.

I may be showing my age here, but Ican recall a time when the only bottled water in the market was Evian, and only yuppies drank it. What in the world has happened that everyone must have a bottle of water with them at all times? Are we all that dehydrated?

If I drink Bottled water will my teeth rot? Fluoridation of water prevents tooth decay and is considered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as "one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century"

Or...

In 2005, eleven environmental protection agency EPA employee unions, representing over 7000 environmental and public health professionals of the Civil Service, called for a halt on drinking water fluoridation programs across the USA and asked EPA management to recognize fluoride as posing a serious risk of causing cancer in people...

I am going to drink the expensive water in glass bottles, and give more money to Al Gore (Through his newly formed compnay that will buy and sell green house emission credits) so that he can help get millions in research grants to the academics who can come up with more "evidence" of global warming.... Then we can all run around and say the sky is falling!

We use reverse osmosis to get RID of the fluoride. Which suppresses thyroid function. If I wanted fluoride for dental health, I 'd at least like the choice of using fluoridated toothpaste. Tap water can be dangerous!

We just purchased a MultiPure countertop carbon water filter, and it works great; we also received a complimentary shower filter. Additionally, we purchased two stainless steel water bottles that my husband uses when he is in the field, he is a wildlife refuge manager. I must say that it is so nice to be free of the water bottle albatross by not having to go to the recyclers every week to recycle plastic bottles. Now, we just refill the stainless steel water bottles from our filtered water. What could be more simple!

The biggest problem is drinking water is not readily available when needed, so you purchase the bottle. However, bottle water does have a place when your local water is unsafe. That happened at Alamosa, Colorado in March. Alamosa never chorine their water before and the community got ill. The good news was this community is very dedicated to recycling and the recycle center was flood with those plastic bottles.

PS The water is safe now, but it makes me aware that water can be a health issue quickly no matter where it is or where it comes from.

My wife and I only use stainless steel bottles to drink filtered tap water from. Plastic bottles are made from PVC plastic and are proven to leak more and more carcinogens into your water with each and every re-use of the bottle. Women who are pregnant are most at risk since the toxins go directly into the blood stream and straight to the baby. Check out your local water company and get the results of their last testing to see if your local water is truly safe. I would suggest buying a carbon filter such as Pur or Brita and filling up stainless steel bottles from now on. Figure that when you buy a 20 ounce bottle of water for $1 and triple that to make nearly a gallon then you are paying $3 per gallon of water...almost as much as a gallon of gas. Water should be free to all since it is truly essential for life. Boycott BIG WATER! Use filtered tap!

My husband and I purchased a five gallon water distiller seven years ago. The initial investment was approximately $2,000.00 after installation by a plumber, but we figure it has saved us quite a bit without the need to purchase bottled water. Initially, our water supply was from a well and now from a muncipal water supply. The only maintenance required for the distiller is a once/month cleaning of the tank which is easy. We also have it hooked up to our refrigerator water supply and ice maker which is great.

From our research, we felt that the water distiller was the best choice to insure potable water.

We have read that water filters, i.e. Brita, etc., are only effective the first time the water is sent through the filter and, thereafter, each subsequent run through the filter is contaminated with the junk that was previously filtered out.

I have been taught since I was a little girl (and I'm 31 now) to recycle and reuse. I have always tried my best to do what I can to reduce the amount of waste my family and I produce. I admit...I have bought a few bottles of water in my life, but 99% of the time I use my Klean Kanteen and my tap water is filtered in a Brita Pitcher (and it is still clean after the first filter!!). I live in Minnesota in the country and do not drink straight well water because no matter what anyone says or believes there has to be nitrates and other contaminates in the ground water. So I believe in using a refillable water container and filtering your water if you don't like tap.

I also wanted to mention how I find it utterly unbelievable how many people throw a plastic bottle in the trash!! This is a recyclable product!! RECYCLE!! It's really not that difficult it just takes some effort on everyone's part. I try to do mine I wish more people would do theirs. This is another reason why I love Seventh Generation products. They are clean, pure and good for me, my family, and the environment and they are doing their part. Thanks!

About six months ago my husband and I were appalled at the amount of water bottles we were throwing away. We live in Phoenix AZ (115-degrees) and while we recycle, but I began to wonder "Why not reduce even our recycle waste?".

With all the plastics scare, we went down to our local Costco and purchased a 12-pack of 20-ounce Fuze drinks in glass bottles with resealable metal lids for $11.50.
We drank the product, and now refill these dozen bottles with our PUR-pitcher filtered water.
At a previous cost of about $8 a week in plastic water bottle cases, we now spend nothing to refill the glass. They are safe, green, and cold water just tastes better out of them.
They are easily sanitized in the dish washer. Less recycle, money savings, no trash...we are pleased.

As for breakable, we also have 4 aluminim refillable, non breakable water bottles that we take to the gym or tennis class.

Last week we found even cheaper glass bottles by the dozen pack at Sams Club. about $5.50 for a dozen iced tea in glass bottles will resealable lids. That will be our next purchase when we need more bottles.

What about where the water comes from?
Natural springs and aquafirs that would normally be in nature/ the wild... we are disrupting the natural cycle of water by bottling it. Water = Life

Thakns for this post, Inspired Protagaonist! I have been drinking tap water for years, and think there is more downside to bottled water than upside...

“What happened in this country that now, suddenly, everyone is walking around with their own personal bottle of water? When did we get so thirsty in America? Is everybody so dehydrated they have to have their own portable supply of fluids with them at all times? Get a drink before you leave the house!”

Tap water is treated with chlorine which creates harmful disinfection by products, many of which are still not regulated or even known. Fluoride is also added to tap water for teeth but this has also been shown to create more harmful effects than positive ones.
Bottled water is typically river water or some other source put through various filtration methods. Ozone has to be added to all bottled waters for preservation and shelf life and ozone has been shown to react with different harmless substances changing them into carcinogens. And on top of all this, if not recycled, the plastic bottles pose a big waste problem.
It's hard to say if one is better than the other. The only certainty is that there is still much to be learned about both forms of water and various treatments methods well into the future

Simple! For 20+ years ecoquest has addressed all water and air issues. The products make sense.
check out the sites below and please feel free to share your thoughts.

www.ecoquest.com/thankful
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I definitely would not drink tap water in any of the 50 states! It has loads of fluoride, pharmaceuticals, and tastes horrible! Until my family can afford a Nikkon water filtration system for the whole house, we buy gallon distilled water. I know about the phthalates that leach into the water but I really think that the stuff in tap water is worse. Plus the water bottles are #2 which aren't supposed to be as bad as #3,6,&7. I know it's counterproductive to buy bottle water while trying to save up for a $300+ water system but it's the best, in my mind, that we can do right now.

As far as the waste, we refill the bottles a couple times at Wholefoods with their distilled water system and then either use them for art projects with my daughters school or recycle them.

In a perfect world, everyone would have water systems in their home, use safe, reusable things recycle but I can't control everyone :)