I keep seeing the Poland Spring bottled water commercials and they say that their water is healthy, you get your water deliver straight to your door and it’s so easy and convenient.That may be nice and all but it’s not quite true. Like all other bottled water companies, they claim that their water is healthy, cleaner and tastes better, but most bottled water is the same as tap water. Actually, tap water maybe better for you since it’s more regulated than bottled water. Plus, some bottled water is just filtered tap water. Seriously, Google it if you don’t believe me.
If you don’t like tap water for whatever reason (like Florida water has an odd taste, I’ll drink it, but some people won’t.) get a filter. There are many different types of filters, like the type that just attaches to your faucet. Tap water is cheaper than buying bottled water or even getting a water cooler. It saves you money and the environment in the long run.
Think about it this way; to get bottled water they have to put it in those plastic containers which takes 2,000 times more energy to produce than it does to produce tap water. Then they have to load it up on semi trucks and ship it to different stores around the country. Once it gets on store shelves, people buy them, drink them and then dispose of the bottles. Now I know you can recycle these bottles, however, 69% of bottled water containers end up in the trash and not in a recycling container. Also, another fact that may shock you, in 2008, the U.S. used enough plastic water bottles to stretch around the Earth more than 190 times! That’s insane! I can’t even picture how many water bottles that is.
Now if you’re like some people I know, you drink filtered tap water at home but when you’re out and about you just pick up bottled water, well I have news for you: they sell reusable water bottles that have a filter in them. So you get your filter water while you’re on the run and it saves you money!
Why people pay for bottled water I’ll never know. Who wants to pay $1 to $3 or more for a bottle of water when you can get it for free?
If I haven’t converted you to drink tap water or filter tap water yet, just picture it this way: Say you buy bottled water every week and you’re family goes through four 24 packs a week. If you get Poland Spring Water, that’s $3.99 for each 24 pack of 16.9oz bottles. That’s $15.96 a week for your water and 96 bottles of water. For a month (we’ll say four weeks), that’s $63.84 a month and 384 bottles of water. For a whole year (52 weeks) that’s $829.92 and 4992bottles of water. Now to me, that could be a couple car payments or 4 months worth of cable or a few months of groceries. I realize that the cost of bottle water is different depending on where you live, but you get the gist.
Now if you get a filter, say a Brita Filter which a 5 pack of replacement filters could run you about $45 (at least on Amazon.com) and each filter can last you about 2 to 4 months depending on how much you use it. So if you use one filter every 2 months, 5 will last you 10 months. That’s about $54 a year!
Just by switching to a filter, you’ll save $775.92 a year. Just think what you could do with that extra money you’d have!
So, in conclusion, do yourself and the environment a favor and get a filter and drink tap water.
If you’re interested check out these great websites to help you make the switch.
www.brita.com
www.filterforgood.com/facts
www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled
www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/take-back-the-tap-guide
