Whether drinking bottled water is the safest way to go, the answer’s still murky. But one thing has become clear: choosing not to drink bottled water is good, both for the pocket and the environment.

Here’s why:
 

  1. What’s in a label?

    2. Depending on source and process undergone, bottled water may be labeled carbonated, distilled, mineral, mineralized, natural, purified, or fluoridated. The Department of Health defines “bottled water” as water obtained from an approved source, and has undergone two processes at the minimum: filtration and ozonation (or an equivalent disinfection process).

    Click here for definition of the aforementioned water processes.
     

  2. The bottle’s watered

    3. Liquid becoming solid while emitting gas. This particular process is called “making water bottles.”

    The plastic most commonly used in water bottle production is called polyethylene terephthalate or PET. According to the Worldwatch Institute, to produce a kilogram of the virgin resin PET, 17.5 kilograms of water is required. And producing the required resin amount involves the emission of 40 grams of hydrocarbons, 25 grams of sulfur oxides, 18 grams of carbon monoxide, 20 grams of nitrogen oxides, and 2.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide will also be emitted before that amount of resin is made.

    Click here to a read a fact sheet on bottled waters and energy.

     

  3. Let’s talk trash

    4. Under Philippine regulations, only virgin plastic may be used for the water bottles, except when the manufacturer uses a government-approved process of recycling. And while PET bottles are recyclable, it was found that 90 percent of these ended up in the trash.

    In 2008, the Philippines registered the highest number of littered beverage plastic bottles in Southeast Asia, based on Ocean Conservancy’s “Marine Debris Index.” The findings were based on marine debris collected during that year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day that year.

    Click here for ideas on how you can recycle water bottles.

     

  4. There’s a better way to drink

    5. During the most recent Holy Week, EcoWaste Coalition made an announcement discouraging the use of bottled water, expecting its consumption to rise during that vacationing period. Members suggested that vacationers bring water using containers that they wouldn’t be tempted to throw in the trash, like stainless steel water jugs.

    Click here for more details about EcoWaste coalition and their projects.

     

  5. Trust your tap

    6. How to decrease public dependence on water bottles? Make tap water drinkable. For water to be potable, the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) requires that coli form, a type of bacteria found in water, must not be detectable in any 100-milligram sample. Tests made by experts from 2006 to 2007 revealed that tap water in areas covered by Manila Water were all potable while samples from areas under Maynilad were 99.56 percent compliant.

    The World Health Organization and some cities around the world are now looking into maintaining safe public water infrastructure to provide clean and safe water for everyone. One way we could help out is by encouraging, if not demanding, from our government that safe water sources be maintained.

    Click to read an article comparing bottled water against tap water.

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