Is buying bottled water really worth the environmental impact? Educate yourself with the following bottled water facts:
*When it comes time to dispose of empty bottles, only about 25% are recycled, and the rest end up in our landfills. As a result, bottled water creates a large solid waste management burden.
*The energy cost of producing bottled water (taking into account manufacture, transport, and refrigeration) is more than 1,000 times the energy cost of producing tap water.
*Groundwater extraction sites can take a toll on local communities and the surrounding environment.
However, if you must drink bottled water, here are the top 10 best and worst brands according to Good Guide:
Top 10 Best:
- Poland Spring-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.9, Society: 6.2, Bottles Made of 100% Recycled PlasNestle Pure Life-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.9, Society: 6.2, Bottles Made of 100% Recycled Plastictic
- Arrowhead-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2, Bottles Made of 100% Recycled Plastic
- Deer Park-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2, Bottles Made of 100% Recycled
- Gerber Pure Water-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
- Ice Mountain-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
- Ozarka-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
- Re-Source Natural Spring Water-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
- Zephyrhills Distilled Water-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
- Calistoga Premium Water-Overall Score: 8/10, Enviro: 7.7, Society: 6.2
Top 10 Worst:
- Voss Artesian Still Water-Enviro: 3.5 Society: 3.4
- Shop Rite Spring Water-Enviro: 5.2, Society: 3.9
- Gerolsteiner Naturell Water-Enviro: 5.9, Society: 3.8
- Fiji Natural Artesian Water-Enviro: 5.8, Society: 4.1
- Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water-Enviro: 6.0, Society: 4.8
- Walgreens Spring Water-Enviro: 6.2, Society: 5.1
- Evian-Enviro: 5.9, Society: 6.0
- Sam's Choice-Enviro: 7.0, Society: 5.0
- Great Value-Enviro: 7.1, Society: 5.0
- Snapple Spring Water-Enviro: 6.8, Society: 5.6
NOTE: I eliminated Nestle from the list per Iona's suggestion. While the bottles themselves may be made from 100% recycled plastic, there's still apparently a lot of problems with that company. The rankings are based on a website called Good Guide, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt in general.
Bookmarks