USE OF BOTTLED WATER

Rodrigo Patino

Professor Bleyle

English 1101

1 May 2023

Use of Bottled Water

"Water Bottled"

     The use of bottled water is becoming common in various locations in many parts of the world. There are many varieties of bottled water, such as mineral, purified, sparkling water, and more. Some prefer it because they believe it is safer, cleaner, and has a better taste than tap water. Other people find it more convenient to carry with them when they are traveling or on the road. Nevertheless, these measures raised concerns about their environmental impact. Every day bottled water is produced and transported, which seriously takes a large amount of energy and creates large amounts of waste. This has led to calls for individuals and companies to reduce their consumption of bottled water and seek more sustainable alternatives through awareness campaigns, conferences, and social media activities. It is important to balance the advantages, disadvantages, and overall look of bottled water and take into account the environmental and public health implications. In this way, we can make informed decisions about our water consumption habits and work towards a more sustainable future. As a consequence, the use of bottled water is an issue that is generating a lot of controversy in recent years. Then, should the government really ban the sale and consumption of bottled water? Two main views have arisen concerning the use of bottled water has had on people. Both sides believe bottled water has a great effect on us and this issue is a real problem that requires treatment. Their viewpoints diverge because one believes that bottled water can avoid some of the contamination concerns around tap water and it is healthy; the other believes that bottled water has a major environmental impact and these in particular may present health concerns. 

     Those who argue that the use of bottled water is a problem point to the personal and environmental world issues created by those who use bottled water. David Morley and Jennifer Sexton are researchers and writers from Antioch University in New England. They firmly think that bottled water is a wasteful use of limited resources. They argue that "this issue is causing a serious environmental problem because these end up in the landfill or in the ocean endangering wildlife and ourselves (Sexton and Morley 1).

     Some people, however, believe that the use of bottled water is a healthy alternative. Nancy Sprague is a registered nurse, researcher, and fellow at the American College of Medical Practice Executives in Colorado. She considers that bottled water should be encouraged as part of efforts to reduce obesity and promote a healthy lifestyle (Tucker and Sprague 1). In his article, "Point: Bottle water is the healthy alternative", Sprague says "it has some notable advantages over tap water" and she claims that " these are easily recyclable, more safe and reliable for human consumption (1).

     The argument for the prohibition of bottled water sales has centered on the harmful effects that bottled water can have on the environment. They argue that the majority of bottles are recyclable but "86 percent end up in landfills or floating in the ocean, where it takes from four hundred to one thousand years for them to biodegrade." (Sexton and Morley 2).  After that, they leach microplastics and chemicals into the ecosystem that definitely can or could be destructive for marine animals. It is estimated that one hundred million marine animals die each year from plastic waste alone, according to the Center for Marine Conservation (CMC). Even the manufacture of these elements requires a considerable amount of crude oil. According to one study, transporting it consumes seven times the amount of energy of a single liter of water (2). At this point, researchers begin to worry that this problem could become unavoidable. This is when desperation sets in because major marketing campaigns deceive consumers and make them pay much more for water that is no different in any way. According to a Harvard University Sustainability study, we observe that "bottled water is on average about three thousand times more expensive than tap water, yet it is no cleaner, safer or healthier than the other option. (3)" The high cost of bottled water, the energy and environmental impact are the reasons why Sexton and Morley believe that the only viable measure is to ban bottled water and use other alternatives to bottled water.

"Bottled Water"

     In contrast to the prohibition argument, the no-restriction argument says the prohibition of bottled water would eliminate an important resource in emergency situations when other drinking water supplies are not available. Sprague says that bottled water is healthier than other bottled drinks because many organizations and markets have limited sports drinks and sodas because those refer to obesity, a significant problem in the United States (Sprague 1). Also, this resource can be recycled, whether made of plastic or glass, into the environment. Plastic recycling becomes an important phase of the circular economy as it provides significant energy
savings and contributes to reducing the resources used during manufacturing. According to Plastic Oceans, "this process can create the energy savings equivalent to taking three hundred sixty thousand cars off the road."(Plastic 3). When emergency situations arise in disaster-prone and disaster-prone areas and cause problems with the plumbing system, bottled water is the most commonly used first resource. "Commercially bottled water is the safest and most reliable source in emergencies and has an indefinite shelf life," according to the Oklahoma State University Extension emergency preparedness website (Sprague 2).

     We can analyze that two parties disagree on whether the government should ban the sale and consumption of bottled water, disagreeing that bottled water is an elemental resource for various purposes. In a study described by Sexton and Morley, most of the waste from bottled water ends up in the sea, causing a great impact on the marine ecosystem (2). On the other hand, bottled water is an important resource because it is safe and reliable and contributes to energy savings in the manufacturing process (3). Both parties disagree that this is a problem that needs to be solved. The market and companies should promote awareness of the actual use of plastic bottles for the welfare of the population.

     Bottled water consumption in the United States increased every year between 2010 and 2020 which means that bottled water has become part of everyday life so it will be difficult to break the habit (Sprague 3). The amount of energy involved in packaging water, transporting it, and disposing of the bottles has a negative impact on the environment ("Bottled" 2). Arguments both for and against the use of bottled water bring valid points. On the one hand, the argument for prohibition says that bottled water is an important problem and the only way to tackle it is to ban this resource altogether. On the other hand, the proponents of using bottled water argue that is an important element that provides a healthy lifestyle. Despite the different opinions on bottled water, it is an interesting and controversial subject as it can be either detrimental or beneficial and should not be taken lightly.

Image Credits

• "water bottle" by Muffet is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• "Bottled Water" by elycefeliz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Works Cited

• “Bottled Water: Overview.” Points of View: Bottled Water, edited by Lee, M and Tom Warhol, pp. 1–5. EBSCOhost, 2022, https:search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=pwh&AN=28675186&sit=pov-live.

• "Bottled of water is the healthy alternative." Points of View: Bottled Water, edited by Tucker, M., and Nancy Sprague, EBSCOhost, 2022,                  https://web.s.ebscohost.com/pov/command/detail?vid=17&sid=81bf96a9-b801-4447-9a77-e49b5c4fb3f1%40redis.

• "Bottled water is a wasteful use of resources." Point of View: Bottled Water, edited by Sexton, Jennifer and Morley, David C, EBSCOhost, 2022, https://web.s.ebscohost.com/pov/command/detail?vid=21&sid=81bf96a9-b801-4447-9a77-e49b5c4fb3f1%40redis.

• "Plastic Bottle recycling facts." RecycleTrack Systems (RTS), 6 January. 2022, https://www.rts.com/blog/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/#:~:text=Recycling%20bottles%20helps%20to%20drastically,streets%2C%20waterways%2C%20and%20oceans.