We all know how harmful plastic waste is to the environment. Ending up in our oceans, filling our landfills, littering our streets. But a new study shows just how harmful bottled water is, and the stats are pretty staggering.

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) recently calculated the true costs of bottled water’s production, bottling, distribution, usage, and disposal, and found that it is 3,500 times more harmful to the environment than tap water.

Indeed, just making a single plastic bottle requires three times as much water as the bottle holds.  It’s stats like this that make it obvious these habits need to change.

With tons of fun, stylish, and practical reusable bottle choices, there are few reasons why buying bottled water should be purchased in the first place.   In fact, most tap water is held to higher quality standards than bottled water is. If taste is an issue, there are a number of filtration systems that improve taste and remove impurities.

Via MyModernMet:

Bottled water was calculated to be 3500 times more harmful to the environment than tap water.
Tap water is usually held to higher quality standards than you might expect. Often times it’s more regulated than bottled water.
Single use plastic bottles survive for thousands of years, and are polluting our land and sea.

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Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Cove Claims to Introduce the World's First Fully Biodegradable Water Bottle | Moss and Fog

  2. So disturbing. I stopped using single use water bottles over 5 years ago, I really wish everyone else would too!

  3. Pingback: The True Cost of Bottled Water is Pretty Staggering — Moss and Fog – A Meditative Journey with Saldage

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