Rise of the bottled water industry is a disaster for the environment and the world's poor
Brahma Chellaney says the growing industry depletes our natural resources, adds waste and pollution, and is no better than clean tap water
Bottled water is the largest growth area in the beverage industry, even in cities where tap water is safe. This has been a disaster for the environment and the poor.
The bulk of bottled water sold worldwide is drawn from the subterranean water reserves of aquifers and springs, many of which feed rivers and lakes. Tapping such reserves can aggravate drought conditions. Bottling the run-off from glaciers is not much better, as it diverts that water from ecosystem services like recharging wetlands and sustaining biodiversity.
Much of today's bottled water, however, is processed water, which is municipal water or, more often, directly extracted groundwater that has undergone purification treatments. Not surprisingly, bottlers have been embroiled in disputes with local authorities and citizens' groups over their role in water depletion.
Worse, processing, bottling and shipping the water is highly resource-intensive. It takes 1.6 litres of water, on average, to package one litre of bottled water. And processing and transport add a significant carbon footprint.
The health and safety benefits are little more than a marketing ploy. Indeed, tap water is often healthier than bottled water
The problems do not stop when the water reaches the consumer. The industry depends mainly on single-serve bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the raw materials for which are derived from crude oil and natural gas. PET does not decompose; and, while it can be recycled, it usually is not. As a result, bottled water is now the single biggest source of plastic waste, with tens of billions of bottles ending up as garbage every year.