Waste Reduction
Choose a Water Filter Over Bottled Water
What Is It?
On-site water filtration systems offer an alternative to bottled water, and filters can last 1-3 months depending on use and water purity. There are different types of water filter processes, including distillation, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis. Different filters are used depending on the contaminants found in the water on site.
Benefits
Approximately two million tons of PET plastic bottles end up in US landfills each year (Duke University). In addition to the waste created by plastic water bottles, significant amounts of oil and energy are used to produce the bottles: about 17 million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic bottles in the US each year (Duke University)—and that’s not even counting the oil used to ship the bottles.
Many bottled water brands are simply selling purified municipal tap water, which you can get by installing a water filter on your faucet or buying a separate water filter machine/pitcher. Using filters instead of bottled water reduces waste, conserves resources, and saves money. (The average water pitcher filters 240 gallons of water per year for about $0.19 cents per day. To get the same amount of water from bottled water would require 1,818 16.9-ounce water bottles per year; at an average cost of a dollar a bottle, that’s $4.98 a day. [Ban the Bottle])
News
- “The Town That Turned its Back on Plastic,” The Telegraph, January 5, 2018
- “Bottled water No. 1 drink choice in U.S., but tap water likely safer,”com, January 3, 2018
- “Bottled Water No Safer Than Tap Water,” ABC News, May 3, 2017
- "San Francisco Moves Closer To Ban On Plastic Water Bottles," The Huffington Post, March 4, 2014
