An Interview With WaterAid

Although we emailed WaterAid with some questions, we were very surprised indeed that they responded, as they are such an amazing and inspirational charity! WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation that was first set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade (1981–1990). It works in 27 countries worldwide, changing millions of lives every year by providing people with clean water, safe toilets and hygiene education.

Here is the reply that WaterAid sent us - they didn't respond directly to our questions, but definitely replied with some interesting answers...

Thank you for your email. Our focus is on international development, and the provision of low tech water solutions which produce clean water from the source, however I hope the information below is useful for your project.

WaterAid champions tap water in the UK as a safe, affordable and sustainable source of drinking water. However we also recognise that drinking bottled water is a lifestyle choice that many UK consumers make. Those who choose to buy bottled water can now also choose to support WaterAid's lifesaving work by buying Belu, and we welcome the chance it provides us to increase our investment to help those for whom the choice does not exist. 

Once I've bought bottled water...

Of course, this is before you have read our blog, but if you do have a plastic bottle in the premises, what on earth are you meant to do with it if you don't want to recycle it straight away?

Click here to have a look at 45 ideas of how to recycle plastic bottles. Some of these look quite complex, but don't be put off!

Click here to admire some very innovative ideas and click here to see some really cute ideas to recycle milk cartons!

Why Fiji Water Is Not As Good As You Think It May Be

Bottled water is exported from all around the world, and one of the most successful bottled water companies is Fiji Water. This is because the water is supposed to be full of good minerals, as Mount Fiji is nearby. 

Although Fiji Water is not commonly found in the UK, it is unbelievably popular in the US, and the business is worth a staggering amount of over $63 million. As the bottled water industry is worth just over $1 billion a year, it just shows you what a substantial amount of it Fiji Water takes up.

"We are Fiji," declare Fiji Water posters across the island, but this is untrue - the reality of Fiji, the country, has been eclipsed by the glistening brand of Fiji, the water. In fact, the slogan of Fiji water is "And remember this, we saved you a trip to Fiji" however, this seems like a cruel joke to anyone who knows about the terrible, squalid conditions of the people who actually live there.

Fiji Water never mentions the fact that, although their water is the number 1 imported water brand in the US, 1/3 of the Fijians do not have access to clean, healthy water. Although the spring set up by the company was originally set to be used by the people of Fiji, this is definitely not the case anymore. 

Selling Techniques - How Companies Make Us Buy Their Water

Originally, bottled water was created because fizzy-drink companies, such as Coca Cola's, growth projections started to level off, instead of increasing. They realised that it wasn't long until consumers started realising that fizzy-drinks are not actually very good for you, and started going back to tap water.

Because of this, these companies decided to create competition with their new enemy (tap water) and manufacture a rival product, bottled water. Obviously, the consumers were shocked and hesitant to drink and invest in this new product. Water was something that they were able to get for free in seconds, just by twisting a button - did they really need to walk to the shops and waste their money on exactly the same thing?!

The crazy companies managed to change our perceptions by doing one simple thing: manufacturing demand. This was done in a variety of ways...

1. Scaring People
A major part in the campaign of making people want bottled water was to tell them that tap water was dirty and unsafe, therefore making people insecure and worried about drinking tap water, and consequently chose to drink the "much safer" bottled water instead. “When we’re done,” one top water executive said, “tap water will be relegated to showers and washing dishes."

Recycling of Bottled Water

Although all PET bottles are 100% recyclable, most are not recycled. Consequently, plastic bottles are terrible for the environment!

As well as this, Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23%, which means 38 billion water bottles are wasted each year. This is over one billion dollars worth of plastic wasted per year.

Why We Like Belu Water

Unlike most bottled water companies, Belu water gives 100 percent of its profits to Water Aid.

Rachel Stephens is a former S club 7 singer and supports Water Aid and is working with Belu to try and promote their massive charity campaign.

Rachel says: "Many people don't have a choice about what they drink, but we do. We also have a choice of which bottled water we buy so I hope that the new wraps which I helped to make help Belu to stand out, so that people choose water that helps give other people a chance."'

I know that our whole website is about trying to make you believe that bottled water is all bad. But, if you are in the supermarket and bottled water is on your list, pick up some Belu and help to make a difference in some of the world's poorest areas.

 

Why It's Not As Healthy As Tap Water

Did you know that there have been 11 major bottled water recalls since 1990?

This just shows you how unsafe bottled water can be.

Phthalates

Phthalates are chemicals used in many plastics to make them soft or flexible. They are widely used in the plastic bottles which hold the bottled water, and there are a number of phthalates which can affect the health. Studies have linked various phthalates to cancer, miscarriage, premature birth, asthma and can alter hormones.

BPA

BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles. They may also be used in other consumer goods. BPA can seep into food or liquids surrounded by plastics made by BPA, and this is a concern as it can affect the brain, behaviour and can pass onto foetuses.

The Impacts of Bottled water

FACT: In the US 1,500 water bottles are consumed every second.

Why is this bad for us?

The chemical used to make the bottle hard and clear is actually really harmful. If you consume it is said to sometimes lead to health problems such as cancer, brain problems and health problems in new born babies if consumed during pregnancy.

Why is this bad for the environment?
If you fill a plastic bottle ¼ full of liquid, this is about equivalent to the amount of oil used to make the bottle. It is also takes up a huge  of fossil fuels when it is transported. As well as this, we are actually just wasting water, as it takes three times the volume of water to manufacture one bottle of water than it does to fill it, and because of the chemical production of plastics that water is mostly unusable.
We found this out from an article by Norm Schriever on Huffingon Post: 

"Water bottles are made of completely recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, but PETs don't biodegrade, they photodegrade, which means they break down into smaller fragments over time. Those fragments absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals (which we then eat)."

Bottled water survey

We asked four questions to our class about bottled water. Twenty people were interviewed and all in all, the survey produced some very interesting results. Here is what we found out:

Do you often use bottled water?
Yes- 9                                                       No- 11

 Do you feel that the taste of bottled water is better than tap water?
Yes- 2                                                No-15                                          N/A- 3

 Do you think bottled water companies should tell people more about BPA and harmful chemicals?
Yes- 17                                             No- 2                                        N/A-1

Facts That Will Astound You

How much more does bottled water cost than tap water? Is it really all that “healthy”? These are facts from the University of Nottingham website.

Britain consumes 3bn litres of bottled water per year.

Typically bottled water retails at up to 500 times more than the price of tap water.

The bottled water market is the fastest growing drinks market in the world.

The UK bottled water industry is worth ~£2bn per year

For 2007 it is estimated that 13bn plastic bottles of water were sold in the UK of which only 3bn were recycled

162g of oil and seven litres of water are required to manufacture a single one litre volume disposable PET bottle and this amounts to the release of 100g of carbon dioxide (CO2) a major greenhouse gas (GHG)

Ooho: The Edible Water Bottle!

The Ooho

Today, we discovered something incredible - some students from Imperial College, London managed to develop an edible plastic water "bottle" that might actually be able to rid the world of excess plastic waste.

If taken further, this bottle that looks surprisingly like a jellyfish could put an end to the bottled water industry. The packaging is  easy and cheap to make, strong, hygienic and biodegradable, making it a great choice for consumers.

San Francisco's Bottle Ban

Earlier this year, Concord in Massachusetts became the first city in the U.S. to institute a citywide ban on plastic water bottles. However, it only has a population of about 17000, so the ban was not much of a challenge. Now, San Francisco has also created a ban on the bottles, which is set to be incredibly strict.

The ban would extends legislation passed in 2007 that forbids the use of city funds to purchase bottled water, and would make it illegal to sell bottled water of 21 fluid ounces or less on city property or food trucks, at large events, or in parks. If passed, the law would move San Francisco further towards its goal of producing zero net waste by 2020.

Interview with Ban the Bottle

We were incredibly fortunate to contact Ban the Bottle, a non-profit organisation which is devoted to banning plastic bottles. We have asked some questions which we hope will provide an insight into their work as well as show you how important it is to ban bottled water. You may have heard about the recent San Francisco bottled water ban. We have asked about that as well, and their answers were incredibly insightful and helpful. The answers are below:

Why do you think there is such a craze for bottled water? What we have heard from many is that bottled water is so popular do to its convenience. You don’t have to remember to fill up a water bottle before you leave the house or try to find somewhere to fill up when out in public. Unfortunately, the bottled water industry has convinced the public that bottled water is safer or cleaner than tap water which has in fact been proven incorrect through hundreds of studies.

 Why do you so strongly disagree with having bottled water? The plastic waste to our environment is immense and that’s not considering what it does to human health. Studies have shown the negative effects that BPA in water bottles has on humans. I recently posted an article that stated over 20 million tons of plastic enters the earth’s oceans each year and a large majority is bottled water.

Pricing of Bottled Water

One of the main reasons that people buy bottled water is that they think it's cheap. However, they are wrong...

After some research, we have come across a shocking quote from Nick Colas, a group chief market strategist. He says:

"The [bottled water] industry grossed a total of $11.8 billion on 9.7 billion gallons in 2012, making bottled water about $1.22/gallon nationwide and 300x the cost of a gallon of tap water," Colas says. "If we take into account the fact that almost 2/3 of all bottled water sales are single 16.9oz (500 mL) bottles, though, this cost is much, much higher: about $7.50 per gallon, according to the American Water Works Association. That’s almost 2,000x the cost of a gallon of tap water and twice the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline."

Welcome!

Hi, we are Jess, Niru and Eve, and welcome to our blog/website!

 

We are very passionate about banning bottled water, as we think that it is a terrible waste of money, time and resources. Why should we pay money for the destruction of the earth?!

 

A video that we particularly like is the first one on our "contact us" page. We think that it tells you loads about bottled water, and information that we could not find in any other sources.

 

Please take a good look around our blog

 

, learn a lot and have a good time!