Easily, one of the most ridiculous trends in America is the wide spread consumption of bottled water. In a country with clean sources of drinking water so readily available, it is bordering on insanity to think that we need huge corporations, manufacturing processes, and distribution chains to make drinking water more convenient or appealing. To see just how far we’ve gone, just think about this for one second, “imported bottled water”. Why would someone from say, Seattle or Denver, need to ship in drinking water from Fiji and France?
There are so many different types of waste when you look at the water bottling process, but none is more obvious than the millions and millions of plastic bottles manufactured each year. The bottle itself has a whole creation cycle that requires the use of an enormous amount of petroleum, agricultural products, chemicals, coal powered manufacturing equipment and even water.
It’s estimated that more than half a barrel of oil is consumed to produce 1,700 plastic bottles, every second. 1,500 of those go directly in the landfill, even with current recycling efforts. Three to five liters of freshwater are consumed to manufacture one disposable 1-liter water bottle.
But the waste isn’t just material, it’s also fiscal. The average American will spend $600 dollars a year on disposable water bottles. $50 dollars a month, for a free commodity. Who needs a tax break? Just pull out a mug and go to your sink the next time you’re thirsty.
Of course, this is just scratching the surface of the huge dilemma we face. Water bottles are just a small percentage of the disposable plastic bottles on the market and this doesn’t even come close to addressing the issues of petroleum use for distribution, CO2 impact, or the effects of fresh water relocation.
The University of Vermont knows, sometimes small steps can make a big impact. Starting today, the university will discontinue the selling of bottled water anywhere on the campus. At an earlier “Bottled Water Retirement Party”, UVM unveiled a 10 foot tall sculpture made entire of water bottled collected on campus. The structure took seven weeks to complete, but the process of collecting the 2,000 water bottles needed was quickly accomplished.
Students overwhelmingly support the movement as the vast majority are already using reusable water bottles. “It’s much more convenient to fill up your water bottle at a water fountain than to buy bottled water,” says Mikayla McDonald.
UVM isn’t alone in its statement either. More than 50 other universities have started a partial or complete ban on bottled, including Washington University who originally started the movement in 2009.
Concord, Massachusetts has officially become the first city (town) to have outlawed the sales of single serving bottled water. The measure was passed ultimately as a way to draw attention to the issue, but the new law is already getting criticism from the International Bottled Water Association, beverage manufacturers and people who are absolutely unable to stomach the undrinkable taste of tap water.