Scientists say that plastic bottled water has 1,400 times more impact on the environment and ecosystem and 3,500 times higher resource costs than using tap water.
According to research published in July in the journal Science of the Total Environment, drinking plastic bottled water is 1,400 times more harmful to the environment than using tap water.
Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that the cost of exploiting the resources needed for all people living in Barcelona (Spain) to drink plastic bottled water is 3,500 times higher than tap water.
Obviously, using plastic bottles is bad for the planet, but the actual numbers related to water bottles are even more surprising.
The study was carried out as the use of plastic bottled water tends to increase in Barcelona, although the quality and safety of tap water has improved markedly in recent times.
“Health reasons cannot justify the widespread use of plastic bottled water,” the lead author of the research team, scientist Cristina Villanueva of the Barcelona Institute, told The Guardian.
Drinking water treatment produces small amounts of trihalomethanes (THM), which are associated with a risk of bladder cancer. However, the rate of THM in drinking water is at a safe level according to EU regulations.
“Yes, strictly speaking, drinking tap water is worse for your health, but when you consider the two, the benefits from drinking plastic bottled water are very small. Obviously its environmental impact is higher than tap water,” she added.
According to The Guardian, in the US alone, it takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce plastic bottles in a year, so this problem clearly extends beyond Barcelona’s borders.
“I think this research can contribute to reducing plastic bottled water consumption, but we need more proactive policies to change that. People trust bottled water because they listen to advertisers. Therefore, we need efforts from many sides,” Villanueva recommended.
According to her, management agencies need to strengthen communication and education about the harmful effects of drinking plastic bottled water, while improving the quality and increasing accessibility of tap water in public places, encouraging people to Bring your own bottle, which can be reused many times.
