3billion - Scholastic

of Babylon, N.Y., has pulled single-serve water bottles from its
vending machines, upgraded public drinking fountains, and
offered free reusable bottles to residents as part of a local campaign
to help people kick the habit of buying bottled water.
Steve Bellone, the Babylon town supervisor, says the bottled-
water industry “has done an effective job of convincing people
that drinking bottled water is good for you. But we have some
of the most pristine water in the country.”
not as pure as you think
Some consumers say they drink bottled water because it
tastes better than tap water, or because they believe it has
fewer impurities. But in blind taste tests, most people can’t tell
the difference between tap and bottled.
And bottled water is not necessarily healthier. In 2008, the
Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization in
Washington, D.C., tested 10 popular brands of bottled water
and found 38 chemical pollutants altogether, with an average of
8 per brand; 4 brands were contaminated with bacteria.
Bottled water also leaves a hefty carbon footprint. Plasticbottle
production in the U.S. consumes at least 17 million
barrels of oil annually, according to the Pacific Institute, an
environmental research organization. And that doesn’t even
take into account the oil it takes to transport bottled water
from as far away as Fiji and refrigerate it.
The environmental impact of bottled water doesn’t end
there. Eighty-six percent of the plastic water bottles used in
every yeAr,
billions
of wAter
bottles
end up in
lAndfills.
the U.S. become garbage or litter, according to the Container
Recycling Institute. About 38 billion per year wind up in
landfills, where they can remain intact for up to 1,000 years.
To offset its negative image, the bottled-water industry is
taking measures to produce a greener product. Nestlé, which
sells Perrier and Poland Spring, and Coca-Cola, which sells
Dasani and Evian, have reduced bottle weight and launched
conservation and recycling projects. Fiji Water plans to
become “carbon negative” by using renewable energy sources
like windmills and investing in reforestation projects.
thoughtless extravagance?
Meanwhile, as the debate over bottled water continues,
more than 1 billion people in developing countries lack access
to any source of clean drinking water. Peter Singer, a bioethicist
at Princeton University, says that in countries where the drinking
water is safe, bottled water is a wasteful luxury.
“We’re completely thoughtless about handing out $1 for this
bottle of water when there are virtually identical alternatives for
free,” Singer told Fast Company magazine. “Put that dollar in a
jar on the counter instead, carry a water bottle, and at the end
of the month, send all the money to Oxfam or CARE and help
someone who has real needs. And you’re no worse off.”
Nicole Cotroneo covers Long Island, N.Y., for The New York Times.
Additional reporting by Bill Marsh, Julia Moskin, and Alex Williams
of The Times, and by Suzanne Bilyeu.
September 7, 2009 27