20 March 2011

Message in a Bottle?


The environmental impact that bottled water creates is so unnecessary especially in countries like Australia where potable tap water is so readily available. I personally prefer not buy bottled water as I think it is a waste of money and quite enjoy the taste of tap water however looking around my room I can see at least five empty water bottles left over from times I forgot to pre-pack my own water.

Empty water bottles are able to be recycled and be reused to make more bottles but the process still uses a large amount of energy. A large amount of water bottles consumed in this country end up in landfills rather than recycling plants. There is not always a recycling receptacle available for people disposal of bottles so naturally people use the closest rubbish bin or if they are an inconsiderate litterbug they leave it anywhere. Out of sight out of mind I guess.
The NSW town Bundanoon is the first town in Australia to ban the sale of bottled water. Local businesses stopped selling bottled water and water fountains were installed in the town. This is proof that Australians are realising the impact of bottled water and that there are other solutions to the problem. I must admit though I think banning bottled water would be a bit intense if the whole country got behind it. Imagine if the police had to do bottled water raids on the local IGA due to bootlegging. It would be a bit silly billy. Bundanoon is not the only town taking initiative drinking fountains and recycling vending machines are becoming more and more common as time goes by.

All over the world discarded empty water bottles plague the streets but even more so in developing nations. The lack of clean drinking water and the cheap price of bottled water create a lot of discarded PET bottles. I once read in a travel guide for South-East Asia a suggestion to collapse your bottle before throwing it away to minimise the space it takes up in the tip which is a valid point but wouldn’t it be even better if the suggestion wasn’t necessary? With a little Iodine tablets could be used instead of bottled water. However I must admit I am the worst offender with bottled water when I travel, I just hate being parched! But if I actually took stock of the damage I was doing to somebody else’s country I wouldn’t be so lazy and I would treat the water. Hopefully if I travel again it will be something I put in practice.

In summation I think in Australia most of the time buying bottled water is needless as we have great source that is cheaper for the individual and the environment. However there are times when you’ve forgotten to bring your water bottle and buying one is a favourable option.

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