There was a good page long article in "The Week" magazine this week about bottled water. It said that less than 25% of the bottles are ever recycled. The water is often just tap water. There is less stringent standards for testing and water quality with bottled water than city water supplies. Much of the bottled water they tested had bacterial contaminants exceeding allowable amounts. The water also had chemicals in it that had leeched from the plastic. Blind taste tests showed 75% of people actually preferred the city water. Most of the bottled water is more expensive than gasoline yet people don't complain about it. I think it said that it also takes something like 2oz of oil to get one bottle of imported water from Europe to the US. Bottled water use has risen over 1000%, due mainly to good marketing. People are right that it is good to drink water, but mistakenly think that the bottled water is healthier in some way.

I watched the Penn & Teller version of "Bottled Water" and of course, they did it in their own humourous way, but they did make the valid points including most of the brands of water were from municipal tap sources. That particular show was a few years old when I saw it, but recently some brands have announced they will be placing the source on their labels.
I have a friend who only drinks Fiji water at $4.99 a bottle because she claims it's the "purest of pure". Umm...she doesn't use it for making coffee/tea/juice or cooking - she uses tap water for that.
It's all in the marketing. Just like everything else. It has a pretty bottle and all the hype with just a little dose of fear and concern for your health.

You're right, it is a matter of marketing. Let's see, how can you get people to pay a high price for something that is generally free? Brilliant. I believed for years that our city water was much worse than bottled "spring" water until I read at least two studies talking about the fallacies in the bottled water campaigns as far as purity and taste. They were real eye-openers. Maybe if I were in a developing country with problems with water sanitation, I could justify it, but here it was just a matter of convenience.

I'm sure there could be a lot of counterpoints as to the purity and safety of bottled water, and wasn't even really looking at that angle, because that adds a whole new dimension to the enigma, although it's a good issue to consider. We all have access to water filters if we wish to use them, and containers in which to tote potable water. The issue of single-use plastic bottles, and shipping them all over creation bothers me more than a little.

Bottled water is really popular here in the UK. But why I can't guess because the entire country has excellent quality drinking water on tap.

I often fill up a jug and put it in the fridge, and people comment on how nice it tastes. They seem to like it more when it's presented in a nice glass jug and chilled a bit, so I guess it's all about packaging.

It is definatly all about the packaging and marketing. Does anyone remember years ago and episode on the show Ellen were her red headed girlfriend wouldnt give up the water because the blue bottle looks great with her red hair? That idea is still true today. It is "cool" to walk around with the water bottle. It is is cool to have it in your fridge to offer your friends. Why not just have a container filled with water and offer a glass instead? I admit that i still buy the bottles for outdoor birthday parties. Im too afraid people will break the glass outside.

"...It has a pretty bottle and all the hype with just a little dose of fear and concern for your health..."

You got it! That little bit of fear is a big seller. I see it all the time with cleaning product commercials, which always have concerned mothers cleaning around their children. Same principle at work.

I also recently saw an article regarding bottled water, it's sources (often municipal water) and the blind taste tests.

About a month ago, legislation was passed here to include water bottles in the deposit/return program. All the grocery stores have big campaigns going to have us call our representatives and tell them how "inconvenient" this will be, and how we want to continue to put it out with our curbside recycling.

Personally, I think its a good idea. I think too many people don't participate in the municipal recycling program, and if there is the chance someone will return the bottles for recycling to get their deposit back, then I'm all for it.

I take home all the recyclables from work to put in my home recycling, and 75% of what I bring home is water bottles from a co-worker. She goes through several every day. I have to constantly bite my tongue and refrain from asking her why she doesn't just bring a water bottle. And we even have a water cooler at work, if she didn't want to drink tap water.

Dee

I'm a big supporter of bottle deposits (I grew up in Michigan, the first state to do the big bottle deposit.) I have this terrible aversion to throwing any bottles or cans in the trash since they were worth so much when I was a kid.

I have to admit that I do occasionally buy bottled water. I've found at least around here, most city water has too much chlorine for my tastes and I won't drink enough of it to stay healthy. So, when I had city water I filtered it to fill my bottles to take to work (and I bring them home to refill until they start to smell/taste funny and into the recycling they go and I have to buy replacements.)

I will drink bottled water when the alternative is soda pop. And I will drink bottled water if the alternative is a water fountain. I've just seen too many unsavory habits around water fountains to make me want to drink that water. That said, I do recycle the bottle, even if I have to take it home to do it.