The impacts of bottled water are significantly higher than those of tap water. In a study by the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) conducted to determine the impact of bottled water in Barcelona. Result? It has been found to be much more costly both financially and ecologically when people use bottled water instead of tap water.
It is estimated that if all the people in Barcelona used bottled water there would be 3.500 higher expenses, with additional costs of around 80 million euros per year. Research on this topic began after it was discovered that, despite robust investments in tap water purification in the city of Barcelona, the majority of residents still prefer to drink bottled water.
Bottled water, also ecological bleeding
In addition to the impact on citizens' economic resources, researchers also found that packaged water is more expensive from an ecological point of view. They concluded that the impact of bottled water on ecosystems it is 1.400 times that of tap water.
I know this may seem impossible, but this is the first study of its kind to examine the impact of bottled water on a particular city. If you are not Catalan, it might be interesting to look at the statistics of your city and see what they found. In most countries, the cost of tap water is much, much lower than that of bottled water.
According to the researcher Christina Villanueva, lead author of the study, the large-scale use of bottled water in Barcelona it has no health benefits. “Health reasons do not justify the widespread use of packaged water. Yes, logically speaking, drinking thewater of the tap should be worse for local health. The water network is often antiquated, with all the associated contraindications. However, if the medical and economic aspects are weighed into the large numbers, the health benefits gained by drinking bottled water are practically zero. And it is quite obvious that the environmental impact of packaged water is enormously greater than tap water,” said Villanueva.
A political and perceptive problem
Villanueva believes this study can change people's perceptions of bottled water, but says more needs to be done in the policy realm. Many people tend to use bottled water due to attractive marketing campaigns by companies. “We could have more educational campaigns to make the public aware that the health benefits of drinking bottled water are much, much less than the environmental impacts,” she said.
