Bottled Water Environmental Impact
Energy most of the energy used comes from burning fossil fuels petroleum natural gas coal which release carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and is a major cause of global warming.
Bottled water environmental impact. That s enough to fuel 1 3 million cars for an entire year. United states bottled water production accounts for less than 2 100 of a percent 0 02 of the total groundwater withdrawn each year. Environmental impacts of bottled water posted on january 17 2018 november 1 2018 in may 2017 augsburg approved a new policy on bottled water that aims to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions and support the provision of water as a human right and not a commodity. America s bottled water production consumes 17 million barrels of oil annually.
While recycling the bottle helps the environment producing it has already done a great amount of damage because 90 of bottled water s cost comes from making the bottle. Today the convenience of disposable water bottles means that we can find bottled water almost everywhere we go. Bottling water releases 2 5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually and takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce a year s supply. The bottled water industry has grown rapidly over the past few years.
It is not just the government and environmental groups talking about the environmental impact of bottled water even the bottled water industry talks about it. It s no question that plastic bottles and bottled water are bad for the environment. Although pet is 100 per cent recyclable. The industry is also working to bottle and dispose of packaged water products in ways that best serve the environment.
Not only can plastic bottles contain harmful chemicals like bpa that damage your health they also have a highly negative impact on the environment. And of course the environmental impact of bottled water is not limited to what it costs to make package and ship it. Bottled water and their impact to the environment. Posted on october 18 2015 september 22 2016 by chris bemis.
An average person in the united states making the choice to use bottled water consumes 30 gallons of water a year and therefore requires 90 gallons of manufacturing water a year. From the american water works association foundation the consumer attitude survey on water quality issues p. The negative environmental impact of bottled water disposable water bottles can be very convenient but that convenience comes at a high cost. Not only do they require a lot of energy to manufacture but they pollute the environment as well.
Before you grab that next case of bottled water check out these concerning facts. There has been a great controversy on the issue of regulating the bottling industry.