Picking up a bottle of water at the supermarket or the gym might be quick and easy, but it has its costs. Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water last year. That’s more than we spent on iPods or movie tickets.
Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water. Compare $0.002 per gallon for most tap water, to a range of $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon for bottled water, according to foodandwaterwatch.org.
Fast Company reports, if the water we use at home cost even what the cheapest bottled stuff costs, our monthly water bill would be around $9,000.
What’s really in that bottle?
Approximately 40 percent of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is just filtered water from the tap, which is exactly the same thing you can do at home for a fraction of the cost.
So, why do we pay more?
When we buy bottled water, we’re not buying the water itself — we’re buying a chilled, convenient, branded beverage, with the false notion that it’s safer than tap water.
Craving a change for good?
According to Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, “A single half-liter of bottled water costs as much as a day’s worth of cooking, washing, showering, and toilet-flushing for a whole family.”
From filtered pitchers to undersink systems, there are options available for any budget. Grab your favorite reusable bottle, and you’re ready to take on the world. Water filters can also make tap water safer for small children and people with compromised immune systems.
Once you give up your bottled water habit, you’ll find you have some welcome extra cash floating around your wallet. See? Change is good.
