Consider Its Lifecycle: Bottled Water

The next time you visit your local food store, you may be astonished by the proliferation of bottled water choices, from high-end names like Perrier and Evian to their low-rent store-brand cousins. Worldwide, bottled water consumption is growing at an annual rate of 12 percent, though in newer markets like India, it is increasing by as much as 50 percent annually. Consumers across the globe now spend an estimated $35 billion a year on this water.[1]

Although its contents might appear the same everywhere, bottled water essentially comes in three different forms: natural mineral water, spring water, and purified water. Under the European Union's definition, natural mineral water is "microbiologically wholesome water, originating in an underground water table or deposit and emerging from a spring tapped at one or more natural or bore exits." In Europe, mineral water's reputation for health benefits dates back to the Roman Empire. The actual benefits of these minerals, however, are regarded today as minimal. While the sources of these waters are protected from pollution, since the water is not disinfected, it can contain naturally occurring bacteria. And though bottlers guard against it, contamination is always possible, as seen in the 1990 worldwide recall of Perrier due to high benzene levels.[2]

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration defines natural mineral water as having 250 parts per million total dissolved solids and deriving from a protected underground water source. Spring water, in comparison, need not have a constant mineral composition and is usually cheaper. Purified water, also called drinking water, is taken from lakes, rivers, or underground springs and has been treated--making it almost identical to tap water.[3]

Bottled water's skyrocketing popularity has a number of causes. In Asia and the Pacific, population growth and problems with local water quality and supply are the biggest factors. (Currently 1.5 billion people worldwide have no access to safe drinking water, and 12 million people die each year from diseases brought on by unsanitary water.) Bulk packaging made bottle water more affordable in India, the United States, and many other countries in the early 1990s. And, prompted by advertising, many consumers buy bottled water as an alternative to soft drinks and alcohol because it is perceived to be safer than tap water and, particularly in France, because it tastes better than tap water.[4]

Yet many people are concerned about the environmental costs of producing bottled water. A leading concern is that growing demand for the water could put a strain on existing water resources. In recent years, several international beverage cpmanies have been exploring water-rich Canada as a source for bottled water. To prevent this, several Canadian provinces have banned, or are considering banning, the bulk export of fresh water.[5]

The Container Recycling Institute reports that sales of virgin resin PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic most commonly used in water bottles, shot up to 738 million kilograms in 1999, more than double the amount in 1990. Producing 1 kilogram of PET plastic requires 17.5 kilograms of water and results in air emissions of 40 grams of hydrocarbons, 25 grams of sulfur oxides, 18 grams of carbon monoxide, 20 grams of nitrogen oxides, and 2.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide. In terms of water use alone, much more is consumed in making the bottles than will ever go into them.[6]

As for distribution, one large difference between bottled water and tap water comes from the fossil fuels burned to transport it by truck, train, or boat instead of by pipe. The World Wildlife Fund, while noting that 75 percent of bottled water is produced for local consumption, argues that international companies should invest in bottlers aiming at local markets and ship bottled water in bulk containers. Yet even this would be more inefficient that public drinking water systems.[7]

Among the largest issues besetting bottled water is plastic waste. According to the Container Recycling Institute, in 2002 some 14 billion water bottles were sold in the United States, 90 percent of which were thrown in the trash--even though most of them were made of recyclable PET plastic. In June 2003, the Pollution Control Board of West Bengal, India, determined that bottle producers were responsible for collecting used bottles and recycling them. Effective bottle bills promoting recycling also exist in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and 11 states in the United States.[8]

Americans say one main reason they drink bottled water is because it is safer than tap water. Yet a four-year Natural Resources Defense Council study tested a thousand bottles sold in the United States and found that about one fifth contained chemicals such as toluene, xylene, or styrene--known or possible carcinogens and neurotoxins. In India, tests by the Centre for Science and Environment in February 2003 found high pesticides levels in sampled waters, resulting in governmental quality certificates being taken away from a number of brands and warnings issued to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.[9]

The United Nations declared 2003 to be the International Year of Freshwater, and it is working to improve the quality of fresh water worldwide. One of the targets under the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability is to halve the proportion of people without safe drinking water by 2015. Yet given the environmental impacts of the use and disposal of bottled water, it is worth asking if there is not a better way to distribute water. For those of us fortunate enough to have the option, tap water (filtered, if necessary) is the cheaper, less polluting choice.

References

1. Catherine Ferrier, Bottled Water: Understanding a Social Phenomenon (Washington, DC: World Wildlife Fund, April 2001), p. 13; consumption growth rate from International Year of Freshwater, "Facts and Figures: Bottled Water," at www.wateryear2003.org; Rajesh Mahapatra, "Pesticide Findings Spur Indian Government Crackdown on Bottled Water Companies." Associated Press, 21 February 2003; global expenditure from Brian Howard, "The World's Water Crisis," E Magazine, September/October 2003, p. 28.

2. Description of water and Perrier recall from Ferrier, op. cit. note 1, pp. 3, 6, 17.

3. Anne Christiansen Bullers. "Bottled Water: Better Than the Tap?" FDA Consumer Magazine (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), July-August 2002, at www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2002/402_h2o.html

4. Asia and the Pacific from Ferrier, op. cit. note 1, p. 13; poor access from Howard, op. cit. note 1, p. 3; Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype? (New York: March 1999); France from Ferrier, op. cit. note 1, p. 16.

5. Maude Barlow, Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World's Water Supply, rev. ed. (Ottawa, ON, Canada: Council of Canadians, spring 2001), pp. 46-47; Anthony DePalma, "Free Trade in Fresh Water? Canada Says No and Halts Exports," New York Times, 8 March 1999.

6. Container Recycling Institute, "Plastic Soda Bottle Recycling Rate Down Again...Virgin Resin Production Outpaces Recycling," at www.container-recycling.org/plasrate/ratedown.htm; PET lifecycle data from Association of Plastic Manufacturers in Europe, cited in Baxter CVG, The Economic and Ecological Implications of a Solid Waste Reduction Program , at www.wastereduction.org/Baxter/Bax5.htm.

7. Ferrier, op. cit. note 1, p. 23.

8. Water bottles in United States from Patricia Franklin, "Letter from the Executive Director," Container and Package Recyling Update (CRI, Arlington, VA), summer/fall 20003, p. 2; Kalyan Moitra, "Recycle Onus on PET Producers, Says PCB," Economic Times of India , 27 June 2003; Container Recycling Institute, Bottle Bill Resource Guide, at www.bottlebill.org.

9. Reason to drink bottled water from Ferrier, op. cit. note 1, p. 16; NRDC, op. cit. note 4; Centre for Science and Environment, "Pure Water or Pure Peril?" press release (New Delhi: 4 February 2003); Hansika Pal, "Debate Over Pesticide Residue Clouds Bottled Water," Economic Times of India , 6 February 2003.

10. U.N. International Year of Freshwater, at www.un.org/events/water; Millennium Development Goals at www.un.org/millenniumgoals.

Reprinted from State of the World 2004 (The Worldwatch Institute, 2004)

Worldwatch is an independent research organization that works for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society. For more information, visit them on the web at www.worldwatch.org.