With
the Green supply chain movement gaining
momentum on all fronts, an environmental
rights group called the Worldwatch
Institute has taken aim at the bottled
water industry.
"Bottled
water may be an industry winner, but it’s
an environmental loser," says Ling
Li, a fellow with the Institute’s
China Program.
The group
cites the oil used to make the plastic water
bottles, the waste of the used bottles going
into landfills, and the impact processing
of the water can have in reducing local
water supplies.
The
Worldwatch web site says, “Excessive
withdrawal of natural mineral or spring
water to produce bottled water has threatened
local streams and groundwater, and the product
consumes significant amounts of energy in
production and shipping. Millions of tons
of oil-derived plastics, mostly polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), are used to make the
water bottles, most of which are not recycled.
Each year, about 2 million tons of PET bottles
end up in landfills in the United
States.”
The
comments come as sales of bottled water
both in the U.S.
and around the world continue to enjoy rapid
growth. In the U.S.,
estimates are that bottled water is a more
than $10 billion market. But growth is rapid
in Europe,
China
and India
as well.
Part of the
environmental argument, it appears, will
be that in developed countries with good
water supplies, tap water is just as clean,
if not cleaner, than bottled water, and
has none of the environmental impact that
bottled water does, from plastic to the
energy used for delivery.
Stay tuned. |