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BOTTLED WATER: YOUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT

BOTTLED WATER: YOUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT. Andrew Kucharski, Ph.D. student Walden University PUBH-8165-2 Instructor: Dr. Raymond Thron Spring, 2009. LEARNING GOALS. The growing market for bottled water in the United States

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BOTTLED WATER: YOUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT

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  1. BOTTLED WATER: YOUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT Andrew Kucharski, Ph.D. student Walden University PUBH-8165-2 Instructor: Dr. Raymond Thron Spring, 2009 Bottled Water: Your Health and the Health of the Environment

  2. LEARNING GOALS • The growing market for bottled water in the United States • Understand the impact of empty water bottles on the environment • Understand the U.S. regulations in place to ensure safe drinking water • Explain the quality characteristics of bottled vs. tap water • Explain some of the health concerns related to plastic containers

  3. BOTTLED WATER: THE EVER GROWING MARKET • Health concerns such as decreasing the consumption of sugar based drinks • Concerns over the safety of municipal water supply • The United States leads the world in bottled water consumption (Franklin, 2006)

  4. BOTTLED WATER: THE EVER GROWING MARKET • According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, The United States leads the world in bottled water consumption • 26 billion liters (2004) • Globally, worldwide consumption increased 57% in five years, reaching 154 billion liters in 2004 (Franklin, 2006)

  5. BOTTLED WATER: THE EVER GROWING MARKET • Nearly 31 billion bottles of water were purchased in 2006 • In New York, nearly 2.5 billion bottles of water a year are sold each year • This many bottles, stacked end to end, would reach the moon (New York State, n.d.)

  6. BOTTLED WATER: THE EVER GROWING MARKET • In California, this growing market results in more than 1 billion water bottles ending up in the trash each year • This means that approximately 3 million empty bottles are being disposed of each day (State of California, 2003)

  7. BOTTLED WATER: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT • The State of New York estimates making the amount of plastic needed for bottled water releases more than 800,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses • This amount of oil is equal to 66 million gallons of gasoline (New York State, n.d.)

  8. BOTTLED WATER: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT • A plastic water bottle takes up to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill • In terms of manufacturing, it takes 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water (The Sierra Club, 2008).

  9. BOTTLED WATER VS. TAP WATER • Bottled water and tap water are regulated by two different agencies • The US Food and Drug Administration considers bottled water to be a food and thus regulates this industry • The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water

  10. BOTTLED WATER REGULATIONS • Regulations for bottled water are listed in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations • 21 CFR Part 129 • 21 CFR Section 165.110 (FDA, 2002).

  11. BOTTLED WATER REGULATIONS • Some bottled water is not regulated by the FDA • Bottled water which does not cross-state lines for sale or consumption does not fall under the regulations of the FDA

  12. TAP WATER REGULATIONS • The US EPA regulates the safety of tap water from municipal supplies as well as private wells that serve more than 25 people • The regulations for safe tap water stem from The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) passed by Congress in 1974 (EPA, 2006)

  13. TAP WATER REGULATIONS • These regulations have led to the United States having one of the safest water supplies in the world (EPA, 2006)

  14. BOTTLED VS. TAP • Bottled water is becoming increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, including: • Taste, color, odor from tap water • Convenience • Diet • Perceived health benefits • Influence from marketing (EPA, 2006)

  15. BOTTLED VS. TAP • There are potential risks to drinking bottled water • Bisphenol A or BPA is a manmade chemical that is used in the production of many plastic-containing consumer products, including bottles used for bottled water • Trace amounts of residual BPA are often present in the final product as a result of the manufacturing process. (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2008)

  16. BOTTLED VS. TAP • Most single-use water bottles sold in the US are made from BPA-free plastic • Some reusable containers are made from plastic containing BP. Reusable containers are often used for sport and outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, or for travel • A product absent of BPA should be considered (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2008)

  17. BOTTLED VS. TAP • People choose bottle or tap for a variety of reasons • Bottled water places a larger environmental impact on our society than tap water • The amount of energy needed to make one bottle of water is roughly equivalent to ¼ of that volume in oil (Sierra Club, 2008)

  18. BOTTLED VS. TAP • Both bottled and tap water are safe, however, bottled water ends up costing the consumer 500 to 4,000 times more than tap water (Sierra Club, 2008)

  19. BOTTLED VS. TAP • There is increasing concern the impact bottled water has on environmental justice • Arguments are being raised that water is not a private commodity, instead it is a basic human right • Boycotts of beverage companies have been organized to protest corporate access to municipal supplies (Sierra Club, 2008)

  20. BOTTLED VS. TAP • The decision to drink bottled vs tap is personal • There are a variety of factors to consider including • Personal taste and preference • Environmental factors • Social and environmental justice

  21. REFERENCES Environmental Protection Agency, (2006, November 28). Ground water and drinking water. Retrieved April 20, 2009 from http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwh/who.html Food and Drug Administration, (2002, October 28). Bottled water regulation and the FDA. Retrieved April 11, 2009 from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/botwatr.html Franklin, P. (2006). Down the drain: Plastic water bottles should no longer be a wasted resource. Waste Management World, May – June, 2006, 62-65.

  22. REFERENCES Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, (2008, June 23). Q&A: Bisphenol A and plastics. Retrieved April 17, 2009 from http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/articles/2008/goldman_schwab_bpa.html New York State, Department of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.). Too many bottles – it’s a waste. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/waterbottles.pdf The Sierra Club, (2008, April). Bottled water: Learning the facts and taking action. Retrieved April 1, 2009 from http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/bottled_water/bottled_water.pdf State of California, Department of Conservation. (2003, May 29). Report: Surge in bottled water popularity threatens environment. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/news/2003%20News%20Releases/Pages/NR2003-13_Water_Bottle_Crisis.aspx

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