The ugly truth…The ugly truth…

What you may not know:

• Plastic bottles can take up to 1000 years before they even begin to compose

• 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled

why should I care?

the the environment:environment:

•Over 46,000 pieces of plastic debris float on every square mile of ocean.

•Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour.

•Only 1 bottle out of 4 is recycled.

And the problem is GROWING

• In the US in 2006, bottled water consumption reached a record 8.3 billion gallons

• Sales are growing by 10% each year, faster than any other beverage

There have been 29 recalls covering 49 bottled water products since 2000

Arsenic, mercury and toxic chemicals derived from crude oil have been found in bottled water

But wait…there’s more:• In 1999 the NRDC tested

more than 1,000 bottles: and found a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical contaminants, including carcinogens, in levels exceeding government standards.

• Approx. 60-70% of bottled water is not regulated at all.

• Contamination can come from leaching of chemicals in the bottles themselves.

http://blog.case.edu/james.chang/2007/06/29/bottled_water_mania

$0.002$0.224

$3.73 $3.79

17 million barrels of oil17 million

barrels of oil

to make the bottles...to make the bottles...

Equal to one Equal to one million carsmillion carsEqual to one Equal to one million carsmillion cars

2.5 million tonnes 2.5 million tonnes of COof CO22

Equal to 11,000 fully loaded transatlantic

flights

Equal to 11,000 fully loaded transatlantic

flights

Scientific studiesScientific studies

Water quality reportsWater quality reports

The ecological footprint of bottled water:

• The Fiji Water plant runs 24 hours a day with three big generators running on diesel fuel.

• It takes about 72 billion gallons of water a year just to make the empty bottles.

• About 1 billion bottles of water a week are moved around in ships, trains and trucks in the United States alone.

• That's a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water.

Tap Water vs. Bottled Water• Bottled water is tested once a year.

• Bacteria such as E. Coli is allowed to be present in bottled water.

• Bottled water is not required to be filtered or disinfected.

• Testing for certain viruses is not required.

• Results not required to be reported to the government.

• Consumers need not know about contamination.

• Tap water is tested several hundred times a month.

• Bacteria must NOT be present in tap water.

• Water is safeguarded, filtered, and disinfected at all times.

• Tap water MUST be tested for certain viruses that may pose serious health risks

• Test results must be reported to the government.

• Consumers must be informed about contamination.

Turn on the

tap!

BENEFITS: • BPA free

•Eco friendly•Fashionable•Inexpensive