Environmental Effects of Bottled Water

Mark Hancock

Environmental Economics

Bottled Water Environmental and Economical Effects

Introduction

Since the early 1990’s American’s have been consuming large amounts of bottled water. Most American’s don’t realize the effects of the bottled water industry on the environment or on their wallet. Individuals believe that bottled water is more pure and of a higher quality than that of their conventional tap water. In reality this is false. We as a country are wasting money on bottled water and harming the environment in the process. Without a change of consumption habits our environment will see some dramatic changes. This is an important environmental and economical issue that will effect future generations as well as the current.

Brief History

Bottled water has become a part of many Americans life. Perrier started this trend with their introduction of bottled water in the early 1980’s. Ever since the early 1990’s when Coke and Pepsi got into the bottle water market because they saw their market share for soda declining Americans have been consuming bottled water at an alarming rate. These companies tried to glamorize their product saying it will make you skinny and healthy and associating it with big name celebrities and athletes. They stated that they were not in competition tap water because they provided a product that was portable, convenient and pure. In 2007 it was an 11.35 billion dollar business. The American people certainly bought into this hype and many people can’t go a day without bottled water in there hands. This can be due to the need for everything to be personalized and handy at all times. Most people will admit this is why they enjoy bottled water. The availability and simplicity of being able to grab one on the go and then just throw it away has given them their current popularity. Another reason people use them so often is the belief that they are more pure and actually cleaner then municipal water supplies....