Is bottled water bad for the environment?
While the content itself is not particularly harmful, the water production process does not make the environment. Many consumers, knowing health, strongly believe that it is advantageous than conventional water water and the aquatic industry profits take place in billions of US dollars (USD) per year. Although the aspects of performance and transport in this industry have a negative impact on the environment, the end result is still considered a healthier alternative than water water processed through municipal sewage treatment plants. The raw plastic must be heated before it can be injected into a bottle -shaped blowing molds, and this heat source is often electricity or natural gas produced by fossil fuels. The finished bottles must then be supplied with trucks or trains that also burn natural fossil fuels. Add to this the use of other packaging materials such as plastic packaging and cardboard. The mere production of bottles has a negative impact on the environment.
There is also a question about the viability of plastic bottles recycling programs. Although plastic used in most bottled devices is considered recyclable, most of the containers used never see the inside of the recycling center. Either they are sent to landfills or are behind as waste. These plastic bottles do not reduce too fast and many of them generate harmful gases when they fall apart. As long as the effort to recycle remains voluntary, the bottles of water will continue to generate these gases and take up valuable space in landfills.
Some experts question the need for bottled water in the first place. Several studies have shown that many of these waters are not made of natural or protected sources offered by their manufacturers. Some are somewhat multi -purified water from the water supply derived from the same source as urban drinking water. The so -called "spring water" or "Arthilian hole" may also contain natural contaminants when water penetrates through the groundEven before the paddle. The side tests of the taste between the bottled and treated urban water from the tap have often revealed very few recognizable differences in taste or quality.
Because bottled water is considered "food", regulation and testing in the US falls into food and drug administration (FDA). The FDA currently requires manufacturers to test their products for harmful contaminants once a week. Under the jurisdiction of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA testing requirements are much stricter for water water water, which requires water treatment to test contaminants several times a day. When it comes to potential damage to humans and animals, uncontrolled bottled water could prove to be much more dangerous than municipal copying of water.
Some water treatment experts recommend replenishing plastic water bottles with fresh tap water because plastic could infuse toxic chemicals when degraded, which becomes a problemmore attracted as soon as the bottles age. Fresh drinking water should be held in a glass or more permanent plastic containers, not in disposable plastic bottles.
While bottled water certainly has an attraction as a portable source of rehydration, it has a negative impact on the environment. Some experts suggest the use of home filtration system to improve the taste and quality of standard water from the water supply instead of buying additional water for drinking purposes. Filters can remove almost all the most dangerous contaminants and foreign substances found in water and purified water from the tap can be stored in more permanent containers with a much lower environmental impact than a one -off plastic bottle.