Bottled water is unnecessary, expensive and damaging to the environment - Discuss

[atila the gooner]

I've never understood why we need bottled water in this country and refuse to buy the stuff, not because of environmental concerns I hasten to add, but because I think it's stupid to pay for something I already pay the local water board for on an annual basis, and don't think bottled water tastes any different or for that matter any better than the stuff that comes out of the tap. Your turn ladies and gents.

Edited because of my rubbish spelling!!!

[KalamityKel]

I always find it rather off putting when you pour a glass of water from the tap and have to w8 10 mins for the cloudyness to clear...

[Cassius]

I nearly always drink tap water (although it is in bottles - but mainly from when I've run out in town and need a drink).

I always ask for tap water in restaurants too and have only been refused twice - once in a Lebanese restaurant on the Edgeware road and once in an Indian restaurant in Camberwell (can't remember its name).

If I did drink bottled water I'd be out of pocket because I drink over 2 litres a day!

[snorky]

if you get teh chamnce, re-read American psyco and the bit where they see how many brands of bottled water they can name

I like fizzy water, but brand aside, it doesnt matter what .

Still wates comes via the tap, thro' an inline filter and out of the fridge dispenser

to buy still water is deluded

[PeckhamRose]

The cloudiness is usually millions of tiny bubbles depending on the pressure of the water coming out the tap.

The PeckhamRoseHousehold has never had bottled water except when our block had a water outage.

So now we keep one spare for emergencies only, along with champagne for the same reason. And that's bubbly too.

;)

I am always amazed at seeing people down Rye Lane who don't look like they earn a lot of money doing the most ridiculous money-wasting things with what little they clearly do have: things like carrying 4 liter bottles of water, whilst smoking and eating their fast food. But then that's democracy..

I'm thirsty now. Where's the bolly.

[SeanMacGabhann]

when you consider that large parts of the world have to trek to a well every day, our indulgence in bottled water is beyond lampooning

And then we complain about congestion charge or whatever else is "imposed" on us...

I don't mind the cloudiness as such but on a hit day that tap has to run for a bit to get the cool stuff - or if I'm good and remember to chill some in the fridge

I have and ocassionaly do buy bottle water - but I'm not going to make any defence of it - it's just laziness. Expensive laziness too. If you see me drinking it when I have an alternative feel free to call me on it

edited after reading PeckhamRose's post: indeed PR, indeed - and more power to them. It's when people complain about how they don't have any money for anything else that I get annoyed. .... What was it about not being able to afford proper chicken that some people mentioned a while back??

[KalamityKel]

I think my main argument is why can't you just purchase an empty bottle? Surely that's all we really buy the bottled water for? That and when sometimes when you're out and about and happen to be in need of some refreshment...

[david_carnell]

It's that damnable dihydrogen monoxide they use as the main ingredient. It is a mix of a high-energy fuel that is explosive, and an accellerant.

Ban it!

[*Bob*]

I realise that a woman in, say, Chad, may have to walk fifty miles to a well and return with a 50Kg pot of water balanced on her head - twice a day - but I still don't see the relevance. In the UK it's just a commodity like everything else.

Personally I think anyone who bulk-buys water in a supermarket and takes it home to take-up room in their fridge must be bonkers, but it's their money.

And even if you are a lazy good-for-nothing, 50p for a bottle water every day (if you must) is still 50p better spent than on a can of Quattro or some other tooth-rot.

[karter]

Bottled water is sourced from different natural locations and has different mineral contents that the body utilises. I buy it all the time and recycle the bottles. At least it doesnt have all of that chemical crap that companies like Thames water puts in to kill off the bugs that have grown since leaving peoples sinks and toilets. nuffsaid.

[SeanMacGabhann]

50p a bottle???? Where you getting yours *Bob*?

Besides I'm not that bothered about people buying it - it's the complaining of being ripped off elsewhere that bugs me

[SeanMacGabhann]

well, unless you bought Dasani , Karter

[BJL]

I buy bottled water because I like the taste. It's my personal choice and I drink it in preference to any other drink.

Why is it worse than buying cola or other soft drinks, wine or beer?

[karter]

Yep thats a scary story, Sean, and just as well delboys Peckham spring water didn't take off too. :)

[*Bob*]

BJL Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Why is it worse than buying cola or other soft

> drinks, wine or beer?

It isn't.

Personally I think it's a minor miracle that teenagers choose to drink water instead of Um Bongo.

[spadetownboy]

um bongo,um bongo,de drink it in de congo.

nothing wrong with buying bottled water as an alternative to a can of coke/fanta etc, but as for buying litres of the stuff to drink at home, well each to their own,your money etc. besides the price of the stuff over here is outrageous, nip over to the continent where its a more prevelant habit to buy bottled water and see the difference in the price, it can be as cheap as 50-60 cents for a 4-5 lt bottle

[SeanMacGabhann]

Um Bongo is positively saintly compared to that powdered orange stuff I had growing up - was it Birds Appeel or something? Now that was ghastly

Karter - it's a bit scary - but more than that it's weird that story isn't it? I mean... how? why? etc etc

[*Bob*]

If there's one product which certainly is named beyond lampooning (to coin Sean's phrase), it's got to be Um Bongo, which I'm fairly certain they don't drink 'in the Congo'.

[karter]

Exactly sean, thats precisely why its healthier to drink spring bottled water (what was coke thinking doing that?), the turkish deli down by the roundabout sells very reasonably priced greek or turkish spring water, a free plug for those cool guys, what a pun.:))

[mockney piers]

Sean, I've had Fanta in Ireland and the colour scares the bejeezus out of me.

*Bob*, the point being made about far flung water last night, in this case Fiji, was that a pump was shoved down to a nice water source, mostly paid for with UN aid, and the Fiji authorities decided to shove a bottling plant above it and export the water, forcing the locals do carry on getting their water from a dirty river.

Said water gets bought by stupid people in more money than sense restaurants for twenty odd quid a bottle.

I've always thought bottled water was stupid and have never indulged. Not out of moral reasons, it's just an absurd concept. I seem to recall that when it first arrived on these shores it was the butt (no pun intended) of many jokes, then sometime around 1987 this country had a surgical irony bypass.

Or something.

[Cassius]

But it's not just whether or not bottled water tastes better or worse, or even if you feel that it is better for you than tap water. The title of the thread also asks wheth/drink miles that it takes to get water here - not so much the Volvics, but water from Canada!! And we've all seen the empty plastic bottles strewn all over the place - goodness knows how long they need to biodegrade.

[*Bob*]

I saw the crappy Panorama Fiji expose (or at least I saw the 'trailer' the Beeb helpfully scheduled in its six o' clock news). I haven't seen much Fijian water myself though. Well done, Beeb! Relevance factor: 0.0000002% of the population.

I can't see how it can be 'stupid' buying bottled water, full-stop. I usually fill-up a bottle of filtered tap water on those rare occasions I do manage to leave the house. But if I haven't, or I've run out, I buy a small bottle of bottled water. It beats going home to re-fill, pulling into Sainsbury's just to use their lav, or knocking on a stranger's door and asking them to fill 'er up.

[mockney piers]

That doesn't just apply to water though does it. I'm sure there's a whole lot more fizzy pop sold than water.

Of course in terms of air miles and nicking the locals' water, the big fizzy pop manufacturers have a lot to answer for too.

[Domitianus]

karter Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Bottled water is sourced from different natural

> locations and has different mineral contents that

> the body utilises. I buy it all the time and

> recycle the bottles. At least it doesnt have all

> of that chemical crap that companies like Thames

> water puts in to kill off the bugs that have grown

> since leaving peoples sinks and toilets.

> nuffsaid.

If bottled water does not contain chemicals to destroy infestation then how come it is safe to drink?

[*Bob*]

It'd be wonderful if there were municipal water fountains available throughout London.

But they'd most likely just get vommed in on a Saturday night.