I know, I know. Just about every man and their chook has done a post on bottled water, but the one thing remains and that is that I have not.
Here are a few eye opening facts. In 2006, according to the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Australians drank 250 million litres of bottled water, which took a massive 456,131 barrels of oil to package and created 60,000 tonnes of GHG through its production and transportation. That is a big waste of energy, non-renewable resources, and with the average bottle of water costing about A$2.50 per 600ml, that is approx 416 million bottles at a cost of A$1.04 billion.
Here is the kicker. I figured out that if all that bottled water was replaced with tap water instead (@ 88.335 cents for a thousand litres), which is perfectly drinkable in all Australian cities, then it would only have cost $220,837. Compared to $1.04 billion, that is quite a saving. So that means that 600ml of tap water would cost you $0.00053 plus the glass to drink it from. Now that is a deal and a half.
So next time when you are out at a restaurant, and ask for water, ask for tap instead. It probably won’t cost you a cent and you will be saving resources to boot. Instead of lining the pockets of a massive corporation, who are ripping you off to the max, you can help keep your city’s water infrastructure intact for the future.
Now for some cool movies: The first video quotes global figures and make you think.
This video just shows how rediculous drinking bottled water can be, and how some peoples perception of it is. It is titled “Tears of a Cloud” and made by dothegreenthing.com
Enjoy!
people (we) complain about the price of fuel and look what we pay for bottled water its insane.as you said theres nothing wrong with tap water
I use an old water bottle when I’m out and about so I’m sure people think I still buy the stuff. Although I dislike advertising for them, I’m also loathe to buy more plastic just for that reason when the old bottle does the job perfectly well.
I always ask for tap water in restuarants too. Unless I’m down south, because the tap water down there really does taste foul. I even resort to buying the bottled stuff when I’m down there. As much as I resent it, there’s just no way I can drink their tap water. Last time I tried I brought it up again!
You’ve given me an idea for a water bottle Gav. I’m going to get a nice bottle and put a big label on the side saying “I drink tap water…It’s free!
Is it really Sharon? I’ve never noticed. I will try to remember to take some Leicester water to Buckinghamshire and do a taste test.
Hey Gav, your sitting on a goldmine… we can bottle your salty pool water and sell it as sports water, you know complete with hydrating salts etc. Maybe we can strike a deal with one of the gyms in Melton. And once the pool is empty we can refill it with rain water stock it with fish and sell the water as swimmers water and make silly claims like it will make you swim like a torpedo..
When lifes a bitch grab a Mitch…must remember that one! Yes gav if you added up how much bottled water costs per litre you would be ashamed to drink it cause it would be more expensive than petrol and most of us whinge about the price of petrol but not the price of water and its more precious a resource than petrol….doesnt make sense does it.
If you’d prefer to ditch plastic bottles altogether we found some stainless steel bottles available in various eco stores around Aus. They are called Eco Tankas. ecotanka.com is their site. We’ve had some for a few months now and they are OK.
Regards, Gary