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Facts and Figures: Bottled Water Consumption of bottled water in the world increases by an average 12% each year, in spite of its excessively high price compared to tap water. Why do we drink bottled water? What is bottled water? Is it better than tap water? |
Topic ID: 5226 |
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Why bottled water? The human body ideally requires us to drink two litres of water per day and people are increasingly looking towards bottled water as a means of meeting some or all of these daily requirements. Bottled water is perceived as being safer and of better quality. Often consumers look for security from food scandals in industrialised countries or water borne diseases in developing countries. Even in countries where there is access to safe public drinking water, people spend up to 1000 times more for bottled water.
Bottled water consumption has been steadily growing in the world for the past 30 years. It is the most dynamic sector of all the food and beverage industry: consumption in the world increases by an average 12% each year, in spite of its excessively high price compared to tap water. What are the different kinds of bottled water?
Who is drinking it and where is it from
The world bottled water market  The world bottled water market represents an annual volume of 89 billion litres, and is estimated to be worth US$ 22 billion.
75% of the world market is still controlled by local actors.
More than half (59%) of the bottled water drunk in the world is purified water, the remaining 41% being spring or mineral water.
While bottled water originates from protected sources (75 percent from underground aquifiers and springs), tap water comes mostly from rivers and lakes.
Bottled water consumption An average of 15 litres of bottled water are drunk yearly per person. Western Europeans are the major consumers, drinking nearly half of all the world's bottled water, with an average of 85 litres/person/year.
The most promising markets are in Asia and the Pacific, with an annual increase of 15% for the period 1999-2001.
Within Europe, Italians drink more bottled water than anybody else: 107 litres per year per inhabitant in average. In the United States, 54% of Americans regularly drink bottled water.
Bottled water vs tap waterPeole have various reasons for chosing bottled water. Many think that bottled water tastes better than tap water and perceive it as being safer and of better quality even if this is not always necessarily the case. Companies marked bottled water as being a healthy alternative to other beverages, consumers buy it to feel well, to lose weight.Mineral Content According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), although certain mineral waters may be useful in providing essential micro-nutrients, such as calcium, there are no guidelines indicating the recommended minimum concentrations of minerals. There is also uncertainty surrounding the mineral nutriction of bottled water over tap water as both contain certain quantities of minerals. Safety and Health Tap water may be contaminated by a range of chemical, microbial and physical hazards. Certain factors may be more readily controlled than in piped distribution systems and stricter standards may therefore to preferred in order to reduce overall population exposure. However, some substances may prove more difficult to manage in bottled than in tap. This is because bottled water is stored for longer periods and at higher temperatures than water distributed in piped distribution systems. Some micro organisms that are of little or no public concern may grow to high levels. Standards and regulations
International standards World Health Organization's "Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality" provides guidance at an international level. Many countries use this as the basis to establish their own national standards. It represents a scientific assessment as well an assessment of those social, economic and environmental factors that must be taken into account in developing standards.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body co-funded by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization that is working on the development of internationally recognised standards for all different kinds of food and drinks, including mineral water. The Codex describes the products and its labelling, compositional and quality factors, limits for certain chemicals, hygiene and packaging as well as good manufacturing practices. While CAC standards are not strictly mandatory, they are recognised by the World Trade Organization as representing the international consensus for consumer protection and any deviation from Codex recommendations may require a scientifically based justification. These guidelines are currently being developped for other kinds of water.
National standards While some countries have national standards for bottled water and some have national certification schemes no universally accepted international certification scheme now exists. Environmental Impacts
Plastics are made from oil and natural gas, both of which are non-renewable resources. More than 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water. PET (the substance that water bottles are made of) requires less energy to recycle than glass or aluminum, and releases fewer emissions into the atmosphere. The processes used to make plastics however can cause serious pollution affecting both the environment and human health if left unregulated. The majority of plastic bottles are not being recycled and are very quickly piling up and filling landfills around the world. Since plastic breaks down at a very slow rate, these will remain in our landfills for hundreds of years to come. Transportation A quarter of the 89 billion litres of water bottled worldwide annually are consumed outside their country of origin. Emissions of the green house gas carbon dioxide, caused by transporting bottled water within and between countries, contribute to the global problem of climate change. Nevertheless, 75% of the world bottled water is produced and distributed on a regional scale, thus limiting transports. What can we do?Bottled waters should not be considered a sustainable alternative to tap water. They are not exempt of periodical contamination and are less energy- efficient than tap water. However not all countries have the benefit of clean tap water. Clean water is a basic right. Protecting our rivers, streams and wetlands will help ensure that tap water remains a public service which delivers good quality drinking water for everyone at a fair price.As a consumer, make responsible choices and do not forget the 3 R's: Reduce your consumption
Reuse your water bottles
Recycle your bottles after you are finished with them.
Other solutions include buying filters for your taps, doing some research on your national water standards and buying water from local sources. In some instances, water bottles are actually filled with tap water and sold as bottled water. For your safety and health always make sure that the security seal is intact before drinking any bottled water. For more information on bottled water visit the Water Library. Special thanks to Juli Meyer, from the Lycée Louis Garnier in Audincourt France for Girls who sent this drawing as part of the French National Commission's drawing contest in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Associated Schools Programme Network. For more information visit http://www.messagersdeleau.com. WHO website: Bottled Drinking Water Bottled Water: Understanding a social phenomenon |
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