We all know how important it is to keep hydrated and drink at least two litres of water a day. But if you’re still buying bottled water, did you know that it is costing you five hundred times more than if you drank tap water?
That’s the equivalent of paying £1,500 for a pint of beer or a glass of wine!
The price of tap water is approximately one tenth of a pence per litre, compared with an average of 69p a litre for bottled water. This means that over the course of a year, if you fill a reusable bottle and drink tap water it will cost around £1. But if you drink bottled water it will cost you around £503.70.
That’s staggering, isn’t it?
With that amount of money you could go on a holiday. You could give your interior a fresh look with new home accessories for every room. Or buy a whole load of new clothes to update your wardrobe.
How Safe is Tap Water?
Just because bottled water is marketed as being pure, healthy and clean, that doesn’t mean tap water is unsafe or unhealthy. Tap water in the UK is among the safest and purest in the world, and must meet stringent regulations.
According to Thames Water, they carry out over 400,000 tests on samples of water each year. It is tested for fifty different things to determine the microbiological, chemical, radiological and aesthetic qualities. In fact, tap water is subject to much stricter testing and controls than the bottled water industry.
In addition, while some bottled water comes from natural springs, more than 25 percent of the water you buy in the supermarket comes from a municipal supply. Which means (yes, you guessed it) you’re actually buying water that comes out of a tap.
Bottled Water and the Environment
Then there is the environmental concern.
It takes nearly 10 litres of water to make a plastic bottle that will hold one litre of … water!
Although these bottled water containers are supposed to be recyclable, three out of four plastic bottles are still not recycled. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 90% of bottles end up in landfills at the rate of 30 million a day.
Over the course of a year, the number of bottles sent to UK landfill sites would be able to fill up Wembley Stadium twice over.
And that bottle which took just a few minutes to drink can take up to 450 years to decompose.
A Reusable Bottle: The Smart Choice
More and more people are beginning to realize that buying bottled water makes no sense. And that carrying a water bottle filled with tap water is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
Yes, you could reuse that disposable one. But does that now slightly crushed bottle with its label peeling off look as good as your sleek reusable bottle? Investing as a one-off in a stylish water bottle is definitely the smarter choice.
So what are you going to do with all that extra money you’ll be saving?
Tell me in the comments below.
That’s a lot of savings and ton’s of plastic away from landfills.I always bring my reusable bottled water wherever I go and try to order a glass of water when I’m in a restaurant.