Generally, tap water in the US doesn't have a pleasant taste, often accompanied by a strong chlorine odor. It's therefore understandable why many people opt for bottled water. Improving filtration or treatment methods seems like the best solution to cut down on the number of bottles.
This is community/water district specific and so is not so easily generalized. I've lived in Kansas City and Denver and neither have this issue. But in my brother's city yes it's an issue.
It is incredibly location and house dependent. My childhood friends' houses were a mixed bag of good and bad. Every house I've lived in has had acceptable tap water. The houses I've stayed in on coastal vacations have had bad tap water, and my college dorm had awful tap water.
I'm glad all of the houses I've lived in have had good tap.
"Bottled water manufacturers are not required to disclose as much information as municipal water utilities because of gaps in federal oversight authority. Bottom line: The Food and Drug Administration oversees bottled water, and U.S. EPA is in charge of tap water. FDA lacks the regulatory authority of EPA."
I think there were a few citizens of Flint Michigan. And it’s not like issues haven’t happened before other places.
Lots of issues around getting safe water after hurricanes and floods and other natural disasters.
And every once in a while everywhere I’ve ever lived gets a boil order just from a maintenance issue when they’re working on a broken water main or something.
Lead pipes develop a mineral lining that prevents lead from getting in the water. It's when that lining cracks, dissolves, or breaks that it can lead to lead in the water.
So while 10% have lead pipes, it does not mean 10% have lead in their water. It means 10% face a small risk of potentially getting lead in their water. So it is still worth addressing.
100% true, it doesn't mean 10% have lead in their pipes. The question is much better phrased, are your lead pipes safe or not, and for how long? So if you're in that 10%, that seems like a pretty reasonable precaution to seek out alternative sources of drinking water.
There are many places in the US where the groundwater is contaminated by industrial pollutants, even if it is within the safety limits that have been set. I assume many people think bottled water is safer.
Folks in Flint, Michigan might have some stories for you. [1] There are a number of other areas with water supply problems as well. [2] I'd expect this is going to get worse if droughts continue in the western United States.
You've NEVER been away from clean, filtered, potable water from a tap?
You should really get out more. To answer your question more seriously, many times. Camping is the easy answer, there's rarely a tap or spring in the southwest US.
I believe that the title is expecting the reader to infer that the measurement is about plastic waste, not water quantity, which commonly is measured in distance.
What are you talking about? The title "See what researchers found when they tested a bottle of Fiji Water against a glass of tap water" is straightforward, tells you exactly what the article is about, and cites sources appropriately.
I always felt focusing the hate against bottled water was bizarre. Bottled soda is worse for you, and likely hurts the environment much more (since you need the water and the extra ingredients). But people usually single out water; schools will ban bottled water, but not bottled soda. It’s bizarre.
If we standardized soda to be delivered and sold as high concentration syrup only to be mixed with water right before use, it would dramatically cut amount of plastic wasted per ml of final mixed product.
Soda fountains exist, are common, and predate plastic bottles.
Even if they didn’t, I’m not sure the logic here. Drinking soda from a bottle is just as much an unnecessary luxury as drinking water from a bottle, in both situations a person could just drink water from the tap instead. But we’re going to allow people to harm the environment with unnecessary packaging as long as they also include unnecessary sugar (which also harms the environment), but we won’t allow the unnecessary packaging if it doesn’t have the unnecessary sugar?
I'll be really happy when we find an actual used for recycled plastic. As much as I want plastic gone, it's not gonna happen, so we have to do something about waste plastic. Even Lego refuses to use recycled plastic.
Is there any other use cases for recycled plastic that has a viable business model?
Like buying a new car every year, wearing the latest fashions, diamond jewelry, etc. - bottled water is both a way for consumers to signal their social status, and for corporations to cash in on primate social instincts. Really, everybody wins!
I look at someone in their luxury or oversized cars or incredibly noisy motorcycle like a heavy cigarette smoker, they are a threat for me on a bike but they are also people who need help to cure their addictions
