According to a poll of 2,000 people conducted on behalf of the Natural Hydration Council, consumers are confused about whether drinking bottled water is good for them, whether it is healthier than tap water, and whether the bottles are bad for the environment or not.
One of the facts confusing people is regarding the plastic used to package bottled water. Bottled water manufacturers will tell you that the only plastic used in the UK for bottled water is PET, and there is no BPA in PET so there is no health problem.
In 2002 a Japanese television programme broadcast a theory that plastic water bottles were unsafe as they leached carcinogens into the water when left in the sun. Cancer Research UK has since discredited these claims by the statement on their website, “there is no convincing scientific evidence to back up these claims or to suggest that any of these products could cause cancer.â€
PET water bottles, including the cap and label, are 100% recyclable and around 96% of local authorities in the UK accept plastic bottles as part of the household collection scheme. Unfortunately, most people are not that good with recycling so millions of these bottles are still ending up in landfills all over the globe every year.
Another claim by a Japanese television programme that freezing water in a plastic bottle then drinking from it can cause cancer was also discredited by Cancer Research UK.
While all the above may be true, there are three major reasons not to drink bottled water on a regular basis:
- The amount of empty bottles that end up in landfills for years on end as it takes thousands of years for plastic to disintegrate;
- Many of the companies that bottle water and make absurd claims about where it comes from are actually bottling nothing more than plain old tap water;
- Buying bottled water can end up being really expensive over time.
The solution is to rather invest in a watercooler that can provide you with an almost endless supply of chilled, pure drinking water. If you want water to take with you when taking part in sports or jogging then fill it up from the water cooler so that you have sufficient toxin-free water to drink and keep you hydrated.
