{"id":2453,"date":"2025-06-12T14:20:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T18:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/?p=2453"},"modified":"2025-06-14T22:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T02:26:07","slug":"when-theres-a-choice-avoid-plastic-bottled-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/?p=2453","title":{"rendered":"When there&#8217;s a choice, avoid plastic-bottled water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Bottled water came on the hip scene in the late 1970&#8217;s, with an incredible marketing campaign by Perrier. Before that, it seemed really silly to <strong>buy<\/strong> a bottle of water, when we had running water at home and water fountains in public spaces! Sure, we were buying Coca-Cola in those cute glass bottles, but&#8230;.water? Turns out that we owe the bottled water craze to a marketing executive from Levi Strauss (remember how popular Levi jeans became in the 1970&#8217;s?) named Bruce Nevins. At first, even he thought Americans wouldn&#8217;t want to spend money on water, something that seemed virtually free and incredibly plentiful, just pouring out of taps. Perrier, a French sparkling mineral water company, wanted the US market of baby boomers and spent millions on ads like this one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Perrier Orson Welles 1979\" width=\"1140\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2qHv4yh4R9c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They also sponsored marathons and convinced a more health-conscious youth culture that bottled water was healthier and cleaner than tap water. With the mass production of plastic bottles beginning in the 1970&#8217;s and a careful pricing scheme to make the water cheaper than soda, but not much cheaper, bottled water soon became a hot commodity through the 1980s and 1990s and all the major soda companies hawked their versions. Bottled water is now the most consumed drink in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-1024x524.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-1024x524.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-768x393.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-1536x787.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-1320x676.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands.jpg 1640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/\">https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-2.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-2.webp 780w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-2-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-2-768x431.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/\">https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-3-1024x464.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-3-1024x464.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-3-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-3-768x348.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/bottled-water-brands-3.jpg 1186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/\">https:\/\/www.water.com\/shop\/water\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are lots of web sites ranking brands of bottled water in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tastingtable.com\/756881\/popular-bottled-water-brands-ranked-worst-to-best\/\">taste tests<\/a>. The different companies each claim their water is purest or has the best minerals from natural springs (even high up in the Andes mountains or from Fiji). Many are packaged in plastic bottles, some in glass and even a few in metal cans. Nowadays there are all kinds of flavored waters and vitamin waters, too. The water is sourced from a host of different places, from mineral springs, mountain springs, and, especially for the cheaper waters, filtered tap water. Some water is &#8220;sparkling&#8221; and some is &#8220;still.&#8221; <mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-pale-pink-color\">Sparkling<\/mark> water typically has added carbonation (like seltzer waters) and <mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">still<\/mark> water is just water without fizz added. Having such a wide selection of water makes it seem like a delightful beverage, rather than simply water that we need to live. The choices and brands are increasingly important when we plan for parties and gatherings. It would be gauche to provide the grocery store brand of water to company, after all. Right? The more expensive, name brand water must be better and tastier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-purple-color\">Is bottled water safer, healthier, tastier?<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One big issue is that water, being a good solvent because of its property of <em>polarity<\/em> (the topic of the previous post), often will end up with chemicals seeping into it from the bottle itself. Particularly if the bottle is plastic and is in the sun or heat or is stored for a long time in a warehouse. Most plastic bottles are made of PET (it&#8217;s chemical name is: polyethylene terephthalate). Other bottles are made of other plastics: polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene and more. All plastics are created from petroleum products, typically with added catalysts (which are also nasty chemicals like antimony which is a heavy metal), high temperatures and pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It turns out that not only do chemical compounds from the plastic get slowly dissolved into the water, but the actual plastic slowly deteriorates into tiny particles- microplastics and nanoplastics. We drink this stuff and the plastic gets into our organs and the chemicals swim around our blood stream affecting our body&#8217;s chemical reactions. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/nih-research-matters\/plastic-particles-bottled-water\">study<\/a> published in <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/38190543\/\">2024<\/a>, funded by the NIH, found on average 240,000 nanoplastic particles in a liter of bottled water.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"636\" src=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/plasticinwaterimageNIH2024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2457\" style=\"width:243px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/plasticinwaterimageNIH2024.jpg 650w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/plasticinwaterimageNIH2024-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/nih-research-matters\/plastic-particles-bottled-water\">https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/nih-research-matters\/plastic-particles-bottled-water<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>One time, I won&#8217;t get into how, I found myself in possession of a box of boxed water. On the website, they market the water as &#8220;fresh&#8230;.pure&#8221; and with a much lower environmental impact because the packaging is &#8220;renewable plant-based materials,&#8221; which is fancy for cardboard. It turns out the water source is filtered municipal water from Michigan and Utah. I thought the water tasted like tap water that had been in a cardboard box for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of folks these days bring their own reusable water bottle and fill up at water fountains\/dispensers in public spaces. Bottles might be made of plastic, or metal, or even glass. Of course, the plastic ones suffer from many of the same problems of disposable plastic bottles: microplastics and nanoplastics, and chemical seepage. Even the <a href=\"https:\/\/oceanbottle.co\/en-us\">Ocean <\/a>bottle, which is made from recycled plastic from the ocean (BPA-free), recycled steel, and silicon rubber, injects the water inside with microplastics and leached chemicals like PFAs (forever chemicals).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Water bottles are part of someone&#8217;s fashion style and vibe- the selection of the bottle is surprisingly important to a lot of people. One of the coolest right now is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yeti.com\/\">Yeti.<\/a> It&#8217;s made of stainless steel and glass, but has a hard plastic lid or sip spout. They&#8217;re really durable and meant to last a lifetime. So, of course, when they are discarded, they hang around for a long long time. A brand I think is cool is <a href=\"https:\/\/halobottle.com\/en-us?srsltid=AfmBOopSpOZovActwVvRHzIPryrPN23_qaDPUqO6Qk32fPk996_FOoxm\">Halo<\/a>. These bottles are so fashion savvy- nifty colors, sizes for every type of bag (gym bag, backpack, even purses). They claim to be &#8220;light as air,&#8221; but, of course, you fill them with water, which is pretty heavy.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1386-840x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2477\" style=\"width:239px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1386-840x1024.jpg 840w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1386-246x300.jpg 246w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1386-768x936.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1386.jpg 1149w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">These are great water bottles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Water Business<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bottled water business continues to boom. Last year, folks in the US <strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color\">bought<\/mark><\/strong> over 16 billion gallons of water- that&#8217;s about 47 gallons per person and upwards of $18 billion. It&#8217;s the most bought beverage. <em>64% of that bought water is just <a href=\"https:\/\/princeea.com\/study-shows-nearly-64-of-bottled-water-in-america-is-just-tap-water-heres-the-brands\/\">tap water<\/a> put into a bottle and sold.<\/em> These figures suggest to me that we do value safe drinking water quite a bit. This also means a HUGE amount of plastic bottle waste. At the same time, water pipe breaks and just careless overuse of freshwater delivered to home taps, is wasting literally <a href=\"https:\/\/recipes.howstuffworks.com\/why-americans-spend-billions-bottled-water.htm\">trillions<\/a> of gallons a year. This is water that our towns and cities pay to have stored in a reservoir, piped, filtered and treated to deliver potable (drinkable) water to homes and businesses. Schizophrenic, if you ask me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a huge fan of water and like to have it on hand to keep hydrated. But, it&#8217;s important to try to minimize how much plastic we contribute to landfills and the oceans. There are ways, like providing public water fountains that accomodate personal water bottles, rather than bottled water, at community events. Maybe kids school backpacks can include a non-plastic water bottle for them to fill and refill at home and school. They can use those bottles for years, rather than buy disposable plastic bottles of water at lunch. Delis and restaurants can stop stocking plastic-bottled water in their refrigerated soda cases and instead provide a filtered water refill station. It wouldn&#8217;t take too many changes to make an impact on the plastic trash problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What other ways do you see to phase out plastic-bottled water, but still encourage folks to drink safe water? After all, <strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">water is life<\/mark><\/em><\/strong>. We just don&#8217;t need it bottled in plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bottled water came on the hip scene in the late 1970&#8217;s, with an incredible marketing campaign by Perrier. Before that, it seemed really silly to buy a bottle of water, when we had running water at home and water fountains in public spaces! Sure, we were buying Coca-Cola in those cute glass bottles, but&#8230;.water? Turns&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/?p=2453\"><span class=\"more-text\">Continue reading<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[72,20,73,66],"class_list":["post-2453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","tag-bottled-water","tag-chemicals","tag-polarity","tag-water-quality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2453"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453\/revisions\/2498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthmoves.vassarspaces.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}