Poland Springs switches tankers to B5, bottled water still a huge waste
The Poland Springs unit of the Nestle company has announced that they are switching over their entire water tanker fleet to running on B5 biodiesel. The company expects the change to yield reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of 1.8 million pounds per year. Poland Spring's use of biodiesel is part of their company wide effort to reduce their environmental footprint that includes a 91 percent internal recycling rate.While these changes are admirable in and of themselves, the fact remains that the entire bottled water industry in general is one of the most wasteful things that we propagate. Huge amounts of energy are wasted in packaging and distributing water and the petroleum that is consumed to make all the billions of plastic bottles is probably far more than will ever be saved by running some B5 in tanker trucks. Coupled with the reality that most tests of bottled waters have shown them to be of no higher quality than tap water and it's often worse. Some bottled water availability when people are out and about may be okay but people who buy cases of water and take it home to drink it around the house are just wasting their money and energy.
[Source: Nestle Waters (PDF)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sensitive_man 8:20AM (6/13/2007)
"While these changes are admirable in and of themselves, the fact remains that the entire bottled water industry in general is one of the most wasteful things that we propagate."
You can say that again brotha! Not just that. It is also a completely unregulated industry. There are no federal standards for bottled water.
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Rolf Oldeman 8:31AM (6/13/2007)
I switched to tapwater about a month ago. It saves me 10 euros a month, 50 or so plastic bottles in waste and the shopping is a lot lighter. A lot of the good taste of bottled water is immagination. I refill a nice glass bottle and keep it in the fridge. Tastes great....
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Benson Leung 10:25AM (6/13/2007)
I got myself a Brita and drink filtered tap water... i probably save tens of gallons a month just by my lonesome.
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UH2L 11:32AM (6/13/2007)
A very good point that bottled water is usually unnecessary and wasteful. It's more of a fashion statement than anything else. Purity aside, our Great Lakes water tastes great and is nice and soft. I don't know how people live with hard water that doesn't even wash soap off your body. I'll just keep some for the sake of an emergency.
But, since there is a market, and this company exists and provides jobs, it's a small green step for them to start using B5, one that should be commended.
Atul
http://www.thingsivenoticed.com
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kballs 4:37PM (6/13/2007)
Tap water really DOES taste like crap in a lot of places (regardless of it's safety level in comparison to bottled water). At home I have a refrigerator with filtered water and ice and it tastes a lot better than the tap. When I'm not home, sometimes bottled water is the best option, especially compared to teeth-rotting, bone-leeching, calorie-heavy soda, coffee/lattes/espresso, ice tea, juice, etc. Hauling bottled water around isn't really any different than hauling bottled Coke, and at least it doesn't contribute to obesity AND global warming.
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Drewboy 7:42PM (6/13/2007)
I'm lucky that my local tap water tastes excellent. On top of that, I've got filtered water available at both my home and office. I have no need to waste money on silly packaging.
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Hun Boon 8:05PM (6/13/2007)
I have no idea why some people drink bottled water at home. If tap water tastes foul, then just use a water filter. Better yet, attach the filter directly to your tap.
I can't imagine spending money on bottled water, and having to lug those heavy cartons home from the supermarket.
Hun Boon
http://starbamboo.wordpress.com/
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