Drinking tap water to save dollars

Recession affecting water bottle sales

The greatest motivation for consumers to turn toward or away from products these days is affordability. 

Somehow, not striking enough in past years was the idea that investing in one $20-$30 metal water bottle and one tap water purifier for $20 would save families a ton of money. This move would be sensible. Families buying $20 cases of bottled water each week spend over $1,000 every year on water; individuals even occasionally buying water bottles, perhaps, $5-$10 worth each week, spend about $300-$550 each year.

One $40 investment could have gone a long way.

Yet in her Fresh Greens blog, Maura Judkis discusses consumers’ move during the recession to finally buy fewer water bottles, whether or not these will be reused or replaced by metal alternatives.

The country's largest seller of bottled water, Nestle, has reported a decline of almost 3 percent in its bottled water division (which includes Pellegrino, Poland Spring and Perrier and Deer Park) for the first half of the year.

A revolution, triggered by economic downturn and eventual recovery. Have weot heard this story before? Yes, this is what happens during recessions. We vote in new presidential administrations and stop buying products that pollute our Earth, harm our bodies, are pretty monetarily costly.

…Analysts also credit the decline to environmentalists' campaigns, such as Take Back the Tap and TapIt, to encourage consumers to avoid bottled water. Their encouragement has also led cities from Takoma Park, Md. to San Francisco to cut bottled water out of their budgets, to the tune of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just this week, the Guardian called out the BBC for spending more than $600,000 per year on bottled water.

…. On water. Money simply spent on bottled water.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fresh-greens/2009/08/13/bottled-water-demand-beginning-to-empty-out.html

On Wednesday (Nestle) reported that profits for the first half of the year dropped 2.7 percent, its first decline in six years.

What not to do

"It's an obvious way to cut back," said Joan Holleran, director of research for market research firm Mintel. "People might still be buying bottled water, but you can bet that they're refilling those bottles."

Obviously people are forgetting and ignoring the health costs of drinking from refilled plastic water bottles. Refer to my earlier posts, especially from April 21, about the dangers of not only drinking from plastics once, but multiple times.

Basically, Think erosion of toxic materials into your body. Each time you leave your water in heated areas, like hot cars, BPA leaches into your water at higher rates. Each time you refill your plastic water bottle, more chemicals like BPA are depleting into the water you drink.

How much we've been spending on bottled water

Sales of bottled water swelled 59 percent to $5.1 billion between 2003 to 2008, making it one of the fastest growing beverages. About 70 percent of consumers say they drink bottled water.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/12/AR2009081203074.html

Who to blame for this costly trend: the profiting companies, of course

Florida's got a personal interest in the bottled water trend. Like it or not, the state's springs are a major supplier of water to the industry.

… Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi recently cited the shift to tap water "in this downturn" by some of its "casual" beverage drinkers. Pepsi's Aquafina is the country's biggest bottled water brand.

In a tough economy, Pepsi Bottling North America president Robert King recently told analysts, "one of the first things that a shopper can decide to do is consume tap water as opposed to purchasing bottled water."

Bitterness ensued. 

Nestle Waters North America is a major user of Florida's aquifer to bottle water under the Zephyrhills brand. Nestle also sells Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka and Poland Spring among its domestic brands.

A near-monopoly of the most popular water drinks in the country. I’ve yet to find one thing I like about the plastic water bottle industry.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/bottled-water-industry-sales-decrease-during-recession/1028389

A side note: Bling H2O

The website is below, and I’m appalled. Glass bottles of water, blinged out with Swarovski crystals, costing upwards of $500. I don’t know which I can handle less: a female’s nearly naked legs and butt conveniently cushioning a bottle on the main page, or the fact that this is actually a popular product that celebrities buy, or the companies' frequent advertising on the Fox News Channel.

http://www.blingh2o.com/store/index.php

I’d also like to give immense credit to the Washington Post article posted above. Throughout my search for this post, I found nearly verbatim citations of the article by journalists and bloggers across the country. Thanks for supplying our information, Washington Post. 

Bacteria build up in metal, plastic bottles

Inquiry from my roommates: Don’t reusable metal bottles accumulate huge amounts of bacteria? Do they build up more germs than plastic bottles? Sure we clean our Siggs with soap and water every now and then, but bacteria probably builds up in the lids and mouth pieces.

Good call, homies. Here’s the research.

Metals over Plastics
An Oregon laboratory recently tested used plastic water bottles for bacteria colony counts and discovered “alarming rates” of bacteria, even in the bottles that were recently washed. “A bottle washed the day before the test contained 2,400 colonies. But it was Amy Blue’s bottle that topped the list. While she washed it a few days before the test, the bottle contained 4,100 bacteria colonies.”

According to the Sierra Blogging Post, the best solution would be to cease any use of plastic water bottles.

“Use stainless steel water bottles instead — stainless steel is a healthy alternative to plastic and is naturally bacteria resistant. With all we know about plastic - it leaches chemicals, doesn’t break down, and harbors bacteria - why continue using it?”
(http://blog.sierratradingpost.com/in-outdoors-camping-gear-forest-trails/reused-plastic-water-bottles-loaded-with-bacteria/)


What Producers Say
Sigg has long boasted that its aluminum water bottles have special linings that decrease bacterial build up.
“Due to the finish of the liner, there is much less chance for bacteria build-up with a SIGG as opposed to plastic containers.”
(http://www.shopwiki.com/search/Sigg+8031.90+(803190)+Swiss+Quality+0.6+Liter+Aluminum+Bottle)

Manufacturers of Santa Fe Aluminum Bottles and Epromo Bottles are now also bragging that aluminum and steel products resist bacteria build up. I think it’s a great point for pushing the product. You got me.
(http://www.empirepromos.com/items/SantaFeAluminumBottle19098.php)

Nalgene containers, though finally BPA-free and still competitive with metal containers, do not feature bacteria-resistant linings. Nalgene's supplementary products include treatments to kill bacteria in your bottle and an "anti-microbial Aquaguard" to help prevent growth in your bottle. Plastic surfaces just don't resist bacteria like metal surfaces do.
(http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1217)

Why to Care
Some might think that the intake of some bacteria is safe, but more studies are linking stomach ulcers, dysentery, cholera, typhoid, etc. to unsafe drinking water. Keeping water in an environment that hampers bacteria, strains like E. coli will occur more. (http://www.cyber-nook.com/water/tbl_cont.html)

Plus, I sometimes let my friends drink from my bottle, which is an easy transfer of bacteria and viruses. I hear bronchitis is going around.

My answer: You’re exposed to exponentially more bacteria when you reuse plastic bottles, BPA-free or not. Use metal bottles, which have surfaces that accumulate less bacteria and are more easily cleaned with soap and water.

My own unanswered inquiry: What is this secret formula that Sigg uses to make its linings? The company won’t release this information, so I suspect it’s a plastic (it’s elastic and can safely contain acidic drinks). Disclosing the plastic liner material would be a marketing nightmare for Sigg, but it’s a compromise for the suspicions Sigg is causing its customers.

“SIGG has perfected the formula of its proprietary inner liner over decades of scientific research and Swiss engineering. The ingredients (like the formula for Coca-Cola) remain secret and unavailable to 3rd parties so as to ensure SIGG retains its competitive advantage. The key of course is that the SIGG liner is FDA approved and independently tested to be taste and scent inert – and resistant to any leaching (0.0%) so 100% safe.”
(http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp?ID=5&PageAction=Custom#What%20exactly%20is%20the%20SIGG%20liner%20made%20of?)