Carbon Footprint of Bottled Water vs Tap Water

---

It is essential to understand that when it comes to water, the best way to protect the environment is to avoid plastic bottles and everything that comes with it and drink the tap one instead.

The main reason for that is that bottled water uses more energy, materials, and resources than tap water, which creates both environmental and material issues. You will be able to help reduce the overall impact on the environment by avoiding plastic bottles

You have to search online for numerous examples in which plastic is affecting ecosystems as we speak. From sea-life to our inabilities to process micro-plastic compounds that we consume daily, which may lead to health problems and conditions in the long run.

Therefore, we decided to present you with a comprehensive understanding of the carbon footprint of bottled water vs. tap water.

Reduce Environmental Impact

We have mentioned above that you will be able to reduce environmental impact by avoiding everything that uses plastic as the package, especially bottled water. You can purchase reusable water bottles, which will help you prevent continuous purchasing.

The idea lies in the problem that the more we consume bottled water, the more plastic the manufacturer will need for the process, which will ultimately generate issues in the long run.

On the other hand, we tend to neglect these issues by saying that one man cannot change anything and that your impact is nothing compared to the entire globe.

Even though this is a fact, the changes have to happen from the inside, and by implementing environmental conscious, you can reduce the environmental problems, because others will do it also and the change will become immanent.

You will be able to refill and wash the reusable bottle numerous times before the environment affects the plastic one that we consume.

• Energy - You should have in mind that drinking the water from the tap by using reusable bottles will reduce the consumption of energy for 85% and that will lower down the gas emissions by 79% in general. This will help you improve the conscience, which will lead others to start using these methods, and finally, the use of plastic will fall, and the environment will be safer than before.
• Oil - You should have in mind that disposable plastic bottles require plenty of resources so that you can use it once and throw it away. Think about plastic that features 1/4 of oil, because that is the amount of it required for the manufacturing of each one of them. To understand the oil consumption required for water bottles, the amount produced only in the USA is equivalent to the amount that can power one million cars on an annual basis.
• Water - According to statistics, three liters of water is required so that the manufacturer can make one liter. Two liters is specifically crucial for plastic bottles, while the third one goes inside for filling.

As you can see disposable water bottles are creating a severe effect on humankind and if you consider the energy and resource expenses through the manufacturing process, it is much safer to drink local tap water because you will not be the one contributing to the pollution.

Reuse the Reusable Water Bottle

Have in mind that tap water is a perfect choice if you wish to save the environment, but apart from that, you will be able to gain personal benefit from it as well.

• Save Money - Have in mind that bottled water is between 200 and 10,000 times more expensive than tap water based on the brand and type that you decide to purchase. Therefore, you should find ways to reduce the expenses by finding a reusable bottle that will provide you an ability to enjoy all the way. If you replace the daily needs for bottled water and choose tap one instead, you will be able to save between $300 and $700 annually.
• Protect Health - We have talked about environmental reasons why you should consider tap water instead of bottled one. When you carry around water, you will be able to stay hydrated wherever you are, which will improve your health and metabolism. Some plastic bags come from low-grade plastics that could affect the water content and input hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates. Even though most plastic bottles come from safer solutions, it is a much better solution to avoid them altogether due to micro-plastic that could affect your health in the long run.

Recycling Is the Future

The best way to avoid energy and material consumption we have mentioned above. Have in mind that the process of recycling will reduce energy and material consumption by 25%, which is not perfect, but it is much better than before.

The question is what you should do to support the usage of tap water instead of bottled ones. You can provide reusable glasses in your office and workplace so that your coworkers could drink from them during meetings and office hours.

At the same time, some workplaces implement no bottled water policies, which are also great ways to reduce overall energy consumption. You can also educate your employees so that they can understand the importance of reusing the bottles and drinking from the tap instead of from bottles.

Quality of Tap Water

In case that you do not enjoy in the taste and quality of tap water in your municipality or working place, you should conduct a test that will help you determine the safeness and other information that will allow you to improve it.

On the other hand, you will be able to find filters that will help you reduce the hard contents, especially if the water is hard in the area you live in. You can install it directly on the faucet, or use the portable one that features the same effect but with less efficiency.

In general, the carbon footprint of tap water is almost inexistent since it does not require plenty of energy and resources for the production, while bottled water affects the environment in numerous ways we have mentioned above.

---