Is bottled water really better than tap water?

Published: 10/04/2023 Times Read: 1899 Comments: 0

Every year we drink 400 million liters of bottled water, which is more expensive, comes from the same sources as tap water and has to meet fewer quality requirements. So, why do we choose to drink bottled water? And do we have a good reason to do so?

Spring or mineral water?
There are two main types of bottled water: mineral water and spring water.
Both are mined from natural or underground sources. Spring water flows to the surface from an underground spring. Mineral water comes from underground sources that are usually geologically protected from contamination and pollution. Mineral water is usually bottled at the source, while spring water can be bottled elsewhere.
To be labeled as such, mineral water must contain at least 150 milligrams of minerals per liter.
Both mineral and spring waters can be treated at source to remove any impurities or unwanted elements by filtration, decantation, oxygenation or ozone treatment.
And tap water? Well, you might be interested to know that 60% of the time, tap water is extracted from the same source as spring water. In this regard, there is not much difference between tap water and that expensive bottle of spring water.

Tap water is up to 500 times cheaper.
Both spring and mineral bottled water are up to 500 times more expensive than tap water. Despite the price difference, the consumption of bottled water is constantly increasing. In Europe, Italy has the highest consumption of bottled water, just over 188 liters per person per year. According to statistics, we use about 134 liters of tap water per day, but only 1.3 liters of it is used for coffee, tea and drinking water.

The impact of water bottling on the environmental footprint: 400 times more CO2 emissions!
The use of plastic bottles is also a cause of concern for the environment. In Europe, only 46% of plastic bottles are recycled. The rest of these bottles end up in landfills or in the environment, such as our rivers, seas and oceans.
And the glass bottles? They don't deserve their green halo. A recent study by the University of Southampton found that glass is more harmful to the environment because it is made from rare natural materials and requires more fossil fuels to produce and transport. As for glass bottle recycling, it is an energy-intensive process involving several steps such as cleaning, sorting, crushing, melting and reforming.
Statistics show that the CO2 footprint of a 1.5 liter bottle of water is between 323-447 grams of CO2. By comparison, traveling by car emits about 192 grams of CO2 per kilometer on average.
When it comes to harmful emissions, bottled water has been proven to have 300 times the carbon footprint of tap water.

Microplastic content in water.
A shocking study by the State University of New York found that 9 out of 10 water bottles contain plastic micro particles. The study sampled 259 bottles from 11 brands and nine different countries and found an average of 325 microplastic particles per liter.
And what's more: there is similar contamination and microparticles in glass bottles as well. Microplastics get into water partly through contact with the plastic bottle and partly in the bottling process.
And what are the results when testing the water from the water supply?
Not surprisingly, tap water also contains microparticles, but in much lower concentrations. 83% of tap water worldwide contains microplastics, with the European average being 1.9 particles per 500ml of water.

Why is tap water better than bottled?
Tap water contains fewer unwanted substances than bottled water. The control over the bottled is only for the content of 15 substances (antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, cyanide, fluoride, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, nitrate, nitrite and selenium).

The smart way to provide clean and safe drinking water.
Tap water may contain fewer dissolved substances than bottled water, but it's not perfect either. To ensure that your drinking water is free of harmful substances, you should use water purification systems that remove microplastics, lead, glyphosate, PFAS (PFOS/PFOA), copper, and more.
In most regions of Bulgaria, tap water also contains heavy metals, therefore, in addition to carbon filters, we recommend the use of reverse osmosis, which guarantees 100% clean water.