That is a good question. When you purchase a water filter for your home, it too uses plastics in its replaceable filter cartridges but the amount of discarded material is much much less compared with daily bottled water consumption. Plus, filter cartridges always end up in landfills unlike plastic bottles which often make its way out to open sea from rivers, storm drains, and our local beaches. Water filter cartridges are also made of high density polypropylene which is a sturdy heat resistant plastic that does not leach chemicals into water. Bottled water companies use polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polycarbonates which are all lower grade plastics that can leach chemicals into water.
Drinking bottled water is a practice that is very inefficient and bad for the environment. There is no reason to have bottled water processed, packaged and shipped to retail stores only to have it then transported again by the consumer to their homes. With a quality water filtration system, people can get clean drinking water directly from the kitchen faucet at a fraction of the price of bottled water while also protecting the environment. It's a definite WIN-WIN situation.
To learn more about the terrible effects of plastic bottles on our planet, please visit this site. Great Pacific Garbage Patch |