Over the years, people have developed the habit of drinking bottled water. The bottled water offers convenience and sound quality as compared to the tap water. The propaganda by the bottled water selling companies has made people believe that the tap water is contaminated and is not safe for drinking. However, studies show that the tap water is tested regularly whereas the beverage companies examine their product only once a year. Due to the growing demands of bottled water, one must examine the consequences for buying bottled water on our environment. The bottled water may offer convenience and other benefits, but the plastic bottles are not just harmful to the environment but also for human health. It is safe to say that the water bottles are doing us more harm than benefit. In addition to the damage that the non-biodegradable material of the plastic bottles is causing to the environment, the use of toxic non-renewable resources in producing the plastic bottles also cause harm to the environment. Usually, while buying bottled water, people do not consider its consequences on the environment.
The United States comes at the top of the list of bottled water consumers followed by China, Brazil, and Mexico. Global consumption increases ten percent every year. The world population consumes about fifty billion water bottles every year, and thirty billion of these bottles are in the United States. The use of the bottled water is frequent on a daily basis due to factors such as taste, odor, convenience, and the belief that it is safer than tap water. However, latest researches have shown that the use of the bottled water is harmful to all living things and environment. A survey conducted by Container Recycling Institute revealed that about eighty-six percent of the plastic water bottles become garbage in the U.S
People use water bottles because it is easy to carry and provides access to the water anytime. In the same way, people show the same ease in throwing the bottles away. As a result, liter fills the streets, parks and other public places. The plastic bottles not only pollute the land but the liter of water bottles also pollutes the water bodies that also affect the marine life. There have been several reports of the death of a sea animal due to the plastic water bottles. They settle in the stomach of sea animals who mistake them for food. Plastic bottles and bags are the most predominant pollutants in the oceans and on the beaches. Ten percent of the plastic in the world ends up in the water bodies where it settles on the waterbed and never gets biodegraded. There are 46,000 fragments of plastic per square mile floating on the ocean). Excess of plastic bottles in the water bodies can effect irrigation which will ultimately damage the food-producing industries like fisheries and agriculture
