Monday, July 11, 2011

Solution to the Bottled Water Epidemic


The bottled water industry is expected to be a $16 billion-dollar industry this year. As Americans, we spend more on bottled water than we do on iPods.

The demand for bottled water is more valuable than gasoline; bottled water can be two to three times more than the price of gas. Why is this? Bottled water companies are wasting valuable resources to create each bottle of water, while consumers continue to pay for this commodity that they can get for just pennies out of a faucet. Some water bottle companies imply that only bottled water is safe - which is not true, especially when 24% of our bottled water industry is using municipal tap water.

A perfect solution to this dilemma is to use water filters and tap water to create your own great-tasting drinking water. Making your own drinking water at home is the perfect way to save money and time, while stopping the waste of valuable resources. Companies like San Pellegrino wash and rinse each 1-liter bottle with more than 2 liters of mineral water before the product is filled, shipped and purchased by the consumer.

Each week, Americans consume more than 1 billion bottles of water. Imagine the amount of ships, trains and trucks that are required to transport those bottles, along with the fossil fuel used to move it and make the bottle. Every gallon of water weighs approximately 8 1/3 pounds. The weight is so heavy that you cannot fill a whole truck full of bottled water. The United States alone pitches more than 38 billion water bottles a year into its landfills, which is equivalent to a little more than $1 billion in plastic.

Last year the average American used 167 bottles of water, a total of 50 billion plastic bottles in the United States. Cities like San Francisco and Santa Barbara, along with several others, are starting to realize the epidemic of wasteful resources and have already banned the purchase of bottled water from city functions.

When you buy a bottle of water, can you really tell the difference? Bruce Nevins, CEO of Perrier, was asked to do a taste test between seven types of tap water, spring water and luxury water on a live talk show. It took him five tries to distinguish which was which.

People generally think bottled water is healthier and safer to drink than tap water. This may be true in third world countries, but in the United States this is far from the truth. Tap water is actually quite safe. It is consistently monitored and tested and the results are made public. Bottled water, on the other hand, has more lax quality controls and is only monitored when the water crosses state lines. According to the FDA, mineral waters have no proven health claims, yet millions of people still buy bottled water. If our water bill was based on the cheapest bottled water, our average bill would be $9,000/month based on a $1.29 bottle of water.

Companies like Dasani and Aquafina get their water directly from municipal water, using water filters. Why not you? Although drinking directly from the tap would be simplest, there are always ways to not only improve not only the taste of water but the quality as well.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, owns his own filtration system, using water filters for his drinking water. A simple coconut carbon water filter can range anywhere from $50 to $100 for a standard setup, which can easily be installed under the sink in the kitchen. If you prefer to use the same technology the bottled water companies use, you might want to consider a reverse osmosis (RO) unit which can range anywhere between $150 and $300. RO units create the purest water and can reject up to 99% of contaminants. Bottled water companies like Dasani, Aquafina and Target-brand water use this type of technology.

So by making your own bottled-quality water at home with a water filter, you are saving money while helping the environment. The amount of savings could be in the thousands a year if you are an avid bottled water drinker. You will be amazed at how simple and quick it is to get such great-tasting water from your own tap using water filters. After realizing what we can do to help our environment, we can also save time and money by having a simple water filter in our own homes.




For more information on water filter products please visit us at http://www.isopurewater.com



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