Bottled water is up to 3,500 times worse for the planet than tap water
08/23/2021 / By Mary Villareal
A study has found that bottled water is about 3,500 times worse for the environment than tap water.
Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) studied the numbers to find how badly bottled water can impact the environment. The study focused on Barcelona, Spain, which is home to around 1.35 million people, about 60 percent of whom consume bottled water.
The scientists used a “life cycle assessment” which estimated the environmental impact of an item in its entire life span. This includes the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use and disposal.
The study found that if every resident in Barcelona switched to bottled water, extracting raw materials would cost over €60 million ($70.6 million). It could also lead to the loss of 1.43 animal species every year. That would be 3,500 times higher cost to the environment for resources than if the whole city were to drink tap water instead.
https://www.pollution.news/2021-08-23-bottled-water-worse-than-tap-water.html#
