How Much Does Bottled Water Really Cost Us?
We use water in various forms every day. Whether you’re showering, washing your hands, cooking, or flushing the toilet, water is an underrated essential commodity. According to the EPA, Americans use an average of 300 gallons of tap water per day, or 36,500 gallons per year, per person. If all of that tap water came from bottled water, the average person’s water bill would exceed $45,000 per year.
If that water source has the potential of yielding such a huge expense for the average person, what is bottled water costing your business? Additionally, what is it costing the environment?
Why Bottled Water?
Maybe you like the refreshing taste, or maybe you find it more convenient to pick up a bottle of water on your way out of the grocery store. Whatever your reasoning, there are many things to consider when purchasing your next bottle of water.
One of the most important things to consider is that 45% of the bottled water you consume actually comes from local municipal water supplies. The other 55% comes from natural springs. Large water companies serve a good portion of tap water that’s been filtered through their systems, bottled, capped, and sold with a brand name. This includes the water found in larger plastic jugs, which are commonly found around the office.
Another reason people choose bottles of water over tap water is for taste. Many people insist that water sipped from a labeled bottle tastes better without even realizing they’re likely drinking filtered tap water. However, most water experts suggest you install a home or office water filtration system, such as the ones from Artesian Bottleless Water.
Lastly, most consumers assume bottled water is healthier; however, that’s not always the case. In fact, if you own a business and are spending money on 5-gallon jugs of water for your employees, you could be wasting money. Not only are those jugs of water unfiltered at the point of contact, but they also can become breeding grounds for bacteria and germs, which are spread to your employees and may potentially make them sick. These are just a couple of ways plastic bottles can hurt your business.
Water for Your Business
In a press release by the International Bottled Water Association, the home and office delivery portion of the bottled water industry accounts for 12% of the entire market. A majority of these deliveries include 3- to 5-gallon jugs of bottled water and account for more than 1.3 billion gallons of water consumed in homes and offices yearly.
If you provide bottles of water in your office, then you are contributing to 88% of the bottled water market, which is the fastest-growing segment of the industry. In total, the bottled water market costs homes and businesses $1.6 billion annually. If everyone switched their services to tap water, that number drops to a little over $3.96 million annually. That’s a huge cut in business costs which could drastically benefit your business.
However, your business isn’t the only entity that could benefit from lower bottled water costs – so could the environment.
Environmental Impacts
Producing bottles of water has a significant impact on the environment. Not only does it take resources to make plastic, but it also costs to develop drilling wells into natural water supplies. Oftentimes, major corporations are destroying wildlife habitats and the landscape of mountainsides just to tap into natural springs. This displaces animals and people and pollutes the surrounding underground springs.
Additionally, producing plastic bottles requires 17 million barrels of oil each year, which could be utilized to fuel one million cars for an entire year. Furthermore, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used in plastic bottle production requires three times the amount of water to produce than is needed to fill. This water waste becomes unusable, further reducing the amount of fresh water available for wildlife and other resources.
Lastly, a majority of bottled water and jugs end up in our oceans, polluting underwater wildlife and habitats. The impact and bottled water costs also affect the oceans, with more than 8 million metric tons of plastic floating around the globe.
Why Go Bottleless
A bottleless water system from Artesian provides your home or office with pH-balanced water that’s been perfectly chilled for a refreshing taste every time. This filtration system is connected to your normal tap water and then stored in a holding tank that’s sealed off from the air. After the water undergoes a nine-stage filtration process, you’ll be able to enjoy refreshing and sanitary drinking water at the push of a button. With one flat monthly fee, you can rest easy knowing your home or office is eco-friendly and eliminating bottled water costs. To find the system that’s right for you, contact us today.
Photo Credit: Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash
