Bottled Water is the Devil...NOT. This post is not going to be popular
July 30th 2007 05:44
I would like to start off by saying YOU HEARD it here first, by that I mean Lilla's article of the vagaries of Bottled Water a few months back CLICK HERE has finally hit the main stream media and Bottled water is taking a hammering.
I am afraid I have to play the Devil's advocate here and stick up for the old bottled water industry a little bit. Not all of it, just parts where the media is creating some hype that is a tad unfair, and I would like to offer a conspiracy theory of my own on this topic.
Firstly, Why just bottled water people? Why not all PET users in general? bottled water is not the only user of PET. I can't find the exact data or rather I can't pay $3,330 to the PET Association to get it, but all you need to do is look in the Fridge at your local service station to see that there are many other users of PET materials out there. I am sure many of the bottles that end up on the side of the road did not only contain water. Also many many other packaging materials we all use daily are made of PET not just bottles.
As for sayting that bottled water is the cause of Pollution, well it isn't the bottles that don't dispose of themselves properly it is US who act ireesponsibly and don't dispose of them thoughtfully
I can hear you screaming but what about the water they take from the Aquifer's? Well statistically (and I can only speak for Australia) bottled water is only circa 0.5% of the water consumed from ground source in this country, the biggest offenders are companies that make just about everything else you can think of INLCUDING ALL THE OTHER SOFT DRINKS WE CONSUME AND SHOCK HORROR ALCOHOL. Most bottled water manufactutuers respect the Water tables because that is where they make their bread and butter, they are the last people who want to see our water supply damaged and depleted. IN SAYING THIS there are a lot of multi-national Beverage Companies that have moved into the bottled water space and yes they do terirble things like buying vast quantities of water from license holders for next to nothing and bottle it for huge mark ups but that isn't the tiny water producer. I think you will find most small manufactuuers of Bottled water would prefer not to produce their product in PET containers and have done this to compete.
How do I know this you may ask. WELL I have a friend who has a small water label here in OZ. Lilla's article did disturb me enough to have a conversation with them about packaging and they listened and agreed with all the negative points about PET. So we have been looking around for new packaging. The results are pretty disturbing, there are very few packaging solutions available and none we could find in Australia that are unequivocally better, they all have their drawbacks and faults where the environment is concerned. The choices are a container that creates far less waste, uses less fuel to manufacture and transport so creates overall a smaller carbon footprint BUT the materials it is made from are less Enviro friendly than PET because globally it isn't economical to set up recycling plants because of its lack of popularity. Then you have Glass which is well publicised for its Enviromental faults. So they have three choices of packaging, PET, Glass and the Softpacks.
What do you chose? well if you are trying to survive in business and compte then you have to use PET. They are going to do an experimanetal Soft Pack run and see if they can attract demand; so maybe if enough people look out for it and get behind it then it could catch on and we can all do something about the PET problem.
Now I can hear you saying, we don't need bottled water at all. Well I guess you can argue that; but no-one can deny the harmful trace chemicals that turn up in tap water, it can be as clean as you like at the Source but the pipes and the way it gets to us means it is pretty much a lucky dip as to the quality of water you are drinking in your house, most filters simply cannot remove these harmful chemicals.Especially poisons such as Arsenic that do turn up in Tap water analysis. Plus everyone should have the choice as to the source of the water they consume. Bottled water is such a huge phenomenom because so many of us choose to drink at least part of our daily intake from a pure source. Water arguably is the most important food we consume; to maintain health you need to drink large quantities. Take me for example I drink a mixture but if I were to drink 100% tap water I would be concerned for my health. Yes the water is OK but my body can only take so much of the added surprises we get in Tap water. A good test to do yourself is to take a supplement with your water and measure its effects in different water: Tap v Bottled. If the supplement has less impacts on your body with Tap Water it is because it is using some or all of its potency equalising the negative impacts of the impure water, if there is no difference, you have great pipes so go for it. Then for a laugh do it with a big commercial water v your local fmaily run water spring business, you'll notice a big difference there too.
So before you get too nasty about bottled water. Think about the individual Brand, and what YOU plan on doing with your PET bottle. It is a disgrace so few get recycled, but the more we demand it the more recyling capacity they will have ot provide.
The whole point of this "carbon footprint" exercise is so that environmentally conscious companies that want to reverse the damage their products have on the environment have a vehicle to pay the environment back for their wrong doing, if no other practical alternative is available for their product. Health regulations are very strict and the alternatives aren't that great. so chosses a brand that cares about recycling, Carbon Offsetting and giving something back........... If you really want to worry about all this there are very few industries that come out unscathed, therefore very few prodcuts we can use. You may think this is fine but health regulations mean that we would all have to become farmers again just to eat.
My conspiracy theory is that multinational Water companies are trying to put the little guys out of business so they can buy out all the small water springs, own all the water licenses and SCREW us over even more, ALSO they can kill two birds with one stone by murdering PET as a product and greenmailing governments into allocating them huge amounts of Carbon offset credits worth Billions for doing factory upgrades they would have had to pay for themselves to change the packaging they are using. That my friends is how you wrought the new Carbon Credit system (Ill write more on this later)
Anyhow, these are just my thoughts and I am prepared to be crucified, but it really is bothering me that they are only picking on bottled water and not the whole lot of them.
P.S a Big thanks to Lilla for her post on Enviro Warrior and getting people thinking.
I am afraid I have to play the Devil's advocate here and stick up for the old bottled water industry a little bit. Not all of it, just parts where the media is creating some hype that is a tad unfair, and I would like to offer a conspiracy theory of my own on this topic.
Firstly, Why just bottled water people? Why not all PET users in general? bottled water is not the only user of PET. I can't find the exact data or rather I can't pay $3,330 to the PET Association to get it, but all you need to do is look in the Fridge at your local service station to see that there are many other users of PET materials out there. I am sure many of the bottles that end up on the side of the road did not only contain water. Also many many other packaging materials we all use daily are made of PET not just bottles.
As for sayting that bottled water is the cause of Pollution, well it isn't the bottles that don't dispose of themselves properly it is US who act ireesponsibly and don't dispose of them thoughtfully
I can hear you screaming but what about the water they take from the Aquifer's? Well statistically (and I can only speak for Australia) bottled water is only circa 0.5% of the water consumed from ground source in this country, the biggest offenders are companies that make just about everything else you can think of INLCUDING ALL THE OTHER SOFT DRINKS WE CONSUME AND SHOCK HORROR ALCOHOL. Most bottled water manufactutuers respect the Water tables because that is where they make their bread and butter, they are the last people who want to see our water supply damaged and depleted. IN SAYING THIS there are a lot of multi-national Beverage Companies that have moved into the bottled water space and yes they do terirble things like buying vast quantities of water from license holders for next to nothing and bottle it for huge mark ups but that isn't the tiny water producer. I think you will find most small manufactuuers of Bottled water would prefer not to produce their product in PET containers and have done this to compete.
How do I know this you may ask. WELL I have a friend who has a small water label here in OZ. Lilla's article did disturb me enough to have a conversation with them about packaging and they listened and agreed with all the negative points about PET. So we have been looking around for new packaging. The results are pretty disturbing, there are very few packaging solutions available and none we could find in Australia that are unequivocally better, they all have their drawbacks and faults where the environment is concerned. The choices are a container that creates far less waste, uses less fuel to manufacture and transport so creates overall a smaller carbon footprint BUT the materials it is made from are less Enviro friendly than PET because globally it isn't economical to set up recycling plants because of its lack of popularity. Then you have Glass which is well publicised for its Enviromental faults. So they have three choices of packaging, PET, Glass and the Softpacks.
What do you chose? well if you are trying to survive in business and compte then you have to use PET. They are going to do an experimanetal Soft Pack run and see if they can attract demand; so maybe if enough people look out for it and get behind it then it could catch on and we can all do something about the PET problem.
Now I can hear you saying, we don't need bottled water at all. Well I guess you can argue that; but no-one can deny the harmful trace chemicals that turn up in tap water, it can be as clean as you like at the Source but the pipes and the way it gets to us means it is pretty much a lucky dip as to the quality of water you are drinking in your house, most filters simply cannot remove these harmful chemicals.Especially poisons such as Arsenic that do turn up in Tap water analysis. Plus everyone should have the choice as to the source of the water they consume. Bottled water is such a huge phenomenom because so many of us choose to drink at least part of our daily intake from a pure source. Water arguably is the most important food we consume; to maintain health you need to drink large quantities. Take me for example I drink a mixture but if I were to drink 100% tap water I would be concerned for my health. Yes the water is OK but my body can only take so much of the added surprises we get in Tap water. A good test to do yourself is to take a supplement with your water and measure its effects in different water: Tap v Bottled. If the supplement has less impacts on your body with Tap Water it is because it is using some or all of its potency equalising the negative impacts of the impure water, if there is no difference, you have great pipes so go for it. Then for a laugh do it with a big commercial water v your local fmaily run water spring business, you'll notice a big difference there too.
So before you get too nasty about bottled water. Think about the individual Brand, and what YOU plan on doing with your PET bottle. It is a disgrace so few get recycled, but the more we demand it the more recyling capacity they will have ot provide.
The whole point of this "carbon footprint" exercise is so that environmentally conscious companies that want to reverse the damage their products have on the environment have a vehicle to pay the environment back for their wrong doing, if no other practical alternative is available for their product. Health regulations are very strict and the alternatives aren't that great. so chosses a brand that cares about recycling, Carbon Offsetting and giving something back........... If you really want to worry about all this there are very few industries that come out unscathed, therefore very few prodcuts we can use. You may think this is fine but health regulations mean that we would all have to become farmers again just to eat.
My conspiracy theory is that multinational Water companies are trying to put the little guys out of business so they can buy out all the small water springs, own all the water licenses and SCREW us over even more, ALSO they can kill two birds with one stone by murdering PET as a product and greenmailing governments into allocating them huge amounts of Carbon offset credits worth Billions for doing factory upgrades they would have had to pay for themselves to change the packaging they are using. That my friends is how you wrought the new Carbon Credit system (Ill write more on this later)
Anyhow, these are just my thoughts and I am prepared to be crucified, but it really is bothering me that they are only picking on bottled water and not the whole lot of them.
P.S a Big thanks to Lilla for her post on Enviro Warrior and getting people thinking.
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Comment by katyzzz
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katyzzz
Comment by Louie
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thanks for the comments......
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Of course though, it's as you say.....it does depend on your pipes. Melbourne water is great. But once you're out of Melbourne, I usually won't drink tap water. It tastes awful.
As for the PET bottles. I know I drink a hell of a lot more soft drink in bottles than I do water. So my PET waste isn't coming from water!
Kylie
Comment by Louie
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It very largely depends on the brand re the purity and your definition of good and bad. Bacteria isn't necessarily a bad thing, your body needs certain bacteria to function efficiently, most of the bad stuff in water is metals and poisons and bad water brands still have those poisons.....it is VERy scary, hence why I am adamant that we choose our brands.
I think people believe water has to have nothing in it and be pure H20 hence the popularity of bottled water; in fact water is a very essential source of nutirents for the body, so in simple terms the more good stuff that is in water the better. Australian Tap water is largely very good BUT the pipes SUCK. I live in an old house with dodgy pipes andI can taste the metals and toxins etc.
The perfect water to me is, as nature intended it, no chemicals and full of the essential minerals my body needs - no water like this actually exists, a few come close.
And yes my point about the PET is in fact that it isn't just water to blame, I can't defend PET as a substance.
thanks for your comments.
Comment by Andrea
V8 Supercar Pitstop
I'm not a bottled water drinker so it really doesn't affect me but, the way I see it, it's just another one of those big panics that us humans seem to indulge in.
Honestly, it's good to see someone actually sticking up for the "under dog".
A.
PS Sorry, I know you were expecting an argument from this post but ... well ... I can't help!!!
Comment by David
I read an article about how, centuries ago, the water was so putrid, people had to drink beer. It made sense to me.
I can't comment on water. I never drink the stuff, but I can tell the difference between bottled/canned beer, and the beer on tap in pubs (that goes through pipes that are never cleaned or flushed, or when they are, the pub staff use chemicals to clean them). Two or three tap beers from a pub, and I'm as crook as a dog. (A sick dog, not a healthy one). Drinking canned or bottled beer? No problems.
As to the environmental damage of packaging? I don't care. Bad luck. It keeps the garbos and recyclers employed, I guess. I like to put a positive spin on things every now and again.
Oh, by the way. I live in Adelaide. We call a glass of Adelaide tap water, soup. If I drank too much Adealide water, you'd see me on Australia's Biggest Loser in no time. Either that, or I'd become an anorexic and hide from the taps.
So, after all that rubbish I've just written, I have to confess, I really can't contribute to this debate. I like the environment but I don't really care about it much. I suppose I really should be spanked, but since that would only turn me on, there's mot much point really, is there?
Knowing my luck, I'd end up trying to get spanked by a new-age envionmentalist into BDSM, and we'd only have arguments over whether or not the spanking stick was cut down unjustly from a forest by multi-nationals and sold for profit, or whether or not the stick contains life, and how if I was spanked properly I'd be connecting with the planet through the stick.
I have tried to take this whole environmental issue seriously but every time I think about making a statement about it on the net, I can feel the plastic keys under my fingers as I type, and the glare of the computer screen tends to accuse me of hypocrisy. Which is okay. I'm quite comfortable being a hypocrite. I'm about to write a few more posts about what I used to believe in, and once did something about.
I'd better go. I'm getting far too silly again. Bloggers don't like silly much. Orble is such a serious forum for debate. I think I'll have a chat to Norm about all this and see if I can clear my head.
David ...
Comment by Louie
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Beer is good and Never let the quisslings get you down.....
Comment by Brenton
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It falls from the damn sky, people.
Comment by Louie
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Brenton, yes good point it does fall from the Sky, not enough in australia at the moment and it is what we evil humans do to it afterwards that creates the problem......I installed a rainwater tnak and then I freak out because i think holy shit what goes onto my roof everytime a plane lands over my house , or the local cats or anything or aaaagh .....so I dont even wash my clothes with it, just water the garden......
Comment by Brenton
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Cibbuano
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I don't drink soda, either.
I used to like San Pellegrino, but then I read that they use 2 L of water to wash the 1 L bottles. Plus the energy required to carbonate it and then ship it from Italy to Australia... it's just too much.
And with Pepsi admitting that their bottled water is just bottled tap water, the whole industry is looking rather ridiculous...
Comment by Louie
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