Estimated 1 million bottles bought every minute and demand is rising, warns expert.
Every minute, one million bottles of water are purchased globally, a habit that not only strains human health with the risk of chemical contamination from plastics but also burdens our planet by contributing to immense plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, only 9% of these bottles are recycled, underscoring an urgent need for a shift towards tap water, which is both safer and more environmentally friendly.
Growing Concerns Over Bottled Water
The huge and growing toll bottled water is taking on human and planetary health warrants an urgent rethink of its use as 1 million bottles are bought every minute around the globe, with that figure set to rise further still amid escalating demand, warn population health experts in a commentary published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.
Some 2 billion people around the world with limited or no access to safe drinking water rely on bottled water. But for the rest of us, it’s largely a matter of convenience and the unshaken belief—aided and abetted by industry marketing—that bottled water is safer and often healthier than tap water.
Health Risks From Bottled Water
It isn’t, insist the authors from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar.
That’s because bottled water often isn’t subject to the same rigorous quality and safety standards as tap water, and it can carry the risk of harmful chemicals leaching from the plastic bottles used for it, especially if it’s stored for a long time, and/or exposed to sunlight and high temperatures, they explain.
Between an estimated 10% and 78% of bottled water samples contain contaminants, including microplastics, often classified as hormone (endocrine) disruptors, and various other substances including phthalates (used to make plastics more durable) and bisphenol A (BPA).
Microplastic contamination is associated with oxidative stress, immune system dysregulation, and changes in blood fat levels. And BPA exposure has been linked to later-life health issues, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, they add.
“While there are short-term safety thresholds, the long-term effects of these contaminants remain largely unknown,” observes the author, adding that microplastics can also enter the food chain.
Environmental Impact and Safety of Tap Water
Tap water is also a greener option. Plastic bottles make up the second most common ocean pollutant, accounting for 12% of all plastic waste. Globally, just 9% of these bottles are recycled, meaning that most end up in landfills or incinerators, or are ‘exported’ to low and middle-income countries, to deal with, begging the question of social justice, they say.
Apart from the waste generated, the process of extracting the raw materials and manufacturing plastic bottles significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, they add.
Call for Action on Water Consumption
While some efforts have been made to facilitate the use of drinking water in restaurants and public spaces, and to curb the prevalence of single-use plastics, much more needs to be done, argue the authors.
“Collectively, the accumulated evidence underscores the critical role of government interventions and educational campaigns in shifting public perception and behavior. These campaigns should highlight the environmental stewardship and health benefits of choosing tap water, effectively driving a cultural change towards more sustainable consumption practices,” they suggest.
Conclusion and Urgent Recommendations
“The reliance on [bottled water] incurs significant health, financial, and environmental costs, calling for an urgent re-evaluation of its widespread use,” they conclude. “Governments must urgently confront these issues,” including those in low and middle-income countries where there is a pressing need for them to invest in safe drinking water infrastructure, they add.
“By prioritizing tap water consumption, we can collectively address the multifaceted challenges posed by [bottled water] and embrace tap water as a cornerstone of environmental responsibility and public health,” they suggest.
Reference: “Rethinking bottled water in public health discourse” by Amit Abraham, Sohaila Cheema, Karima Chaabna, Albert B Lowenfels and Ravinder Mamtani, 1 August 2024, BMJ Global Health.
DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015226
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16 Comments
Why not sell the water in recyclable glass bottles, if bottled water indeed has to produced at all? Bottled water as sold now is a damned silly idea in the first place.
Good idea! I vaguely remember when milk came in glass bottles….everything is plastic these days.
Love these comments! Glad people arent buying into this propaganda. Plastic bottles arent healthy? Ban them and only produce water in glass bottles. Boom. Problem solved. No one wants your tap water filled with chemicals. (Thanks Flint, MI for letting the world know how dangerous tap water is!)
I agree. I’ll go with the plastic
.glass best..we live on mexico texas border a1944 water treaty not adhered to.and challenging drought on both sides countries.and not safe water to drink.plants are not maintained now we have warnings water contains ecoli..Boiling h2o .Wh at are solutions need think of plants that can clean water….waterlily hugs to all best health.light sophos to all
I call BS on this topic. We as a society have been drinking out of plastic bottles for 40 to 50 years now if there was complications caused by plastics in the water it would have revealed itself by now. Additionally if manufacturers are really that concerned about health effects if they’re water then why aren’t they offering different options of their water? On top of that not everyone’s tap water is drinking quality where I live the water doesn’t even pass quality standards for drinking water yes here in the United States that happens. So I’m sorry I’m passing on drinking tap water and filtering it through plastic products in order to get it to be of drinking quality. The bottom line is they just want society to use less plastic and they’re trying to use a scare tactic since voluntary aspect of things is not working of reducing plastic usage. So if people don’t do things voluntarily scare them into doing it 🙄
I agree. I’ll go with the plastic
I don’t drink water from plastic bottles. I also don’t try to force people to do what I want. BMJ Group is urgently calling on world governments to make everyone stop using plastic water bottles? I think the best course of action would be for the authors to travel to all countries of the world drinking the tap water; if they survive, maybe they will stop demanding to force their ignorant, arrogant, and dangerous Health And Safety rubbish on the rest of the world.
Great idea…haha
Personally I use metel bottle as not only is easy to clean I than use tap water if for what ever the reason I need to buy bottle water I get ones in glass bottles. As theses can brake, I transfer to my metel bottle therefore minimising any health and environmental risks.
By the way also metel bottles keep the water colder for longer.
I’m 74 and drink ‘Eternal Water’, it is claimed to be from underground alkaline springs and I prefer it’s taste, it comes in plastic bottles. Second is “Spring Water” or “Sparkling Water”, they are both generic carbonated water. Third is tap water, i only take it to wash down pills and the contents of the pills might interact with carbonated water, it tastes pretty bad, it’s water filled with dead algae and dead bacteria and chlorine, i guess.
I agree that plastic bottles are a problem, if they don’t get recycled. But I also remember that they used to be the solution not so long ago.
They’re reusable and sturdy, they’re significantly lighter than glass bottles, so they’re more practical to carry around; and they don’t shatter into hundreds of nasty shards like glass bottles, so littering the streets with them isn’t quite as bad as it was with glass bottles. Also, you can’t stab anyone with a plastic bottle.
It’s true that all the chemicals in the plastic do get released into the fluid it contains, so filling then up with water and advertising that as a healthy option comes across as rather disingenuous. And there’s that issue of microplastic, of course.
But the pros still outweigh the cons, so don’t expect people to change their affinity towards plastic bottles anytime soon. I know I won’t.
The problem is worse than you think. See my article, Plastic Water: The Dark Effect of the Sun on Plastic Drinking Bottles. https://www.academia.edu/107074923/Plastic_Water_The_Dark_Effects_of_the_Sun_on_Plastic_Drinking_Bottles
I don’t usually default to cynicism but I’m calling BS to their worries. This is being generated by environmentalists who want only to end one time use items, plastic, paper, glass, aluminum. Whatever. Notice they don’t suggest any of the many other options but only want us to drink tap? And since we aren’t listening, now comes the fear mongering over microplastics. 🙄 As if tap was a safer choice when we know damn well it’s not. Whoever wrote this isn’t worried about our health. They just want to end disposable containers. That’s it
Why not research this subject un biased sources IF possible lots not all is subjective..World Health Organisation National Health Institutes committed of the world health orghave compiled research all over the world a good writer sincere presents facts of both sides of an argument and siites sources
Each to his own. Let me know when almost all the companies throughout the world stops manufacturing plastic bottles for their beverages so that hardly anyone can buy them in those.