If you go to any restaurant in Europe it's likely that you'll be asked to choose from still or sparkling water. So why are we not given the choice of bottled or tap? The bottled water industry has attracted growing criticism in recent years over its detrimental impact on the environment, so why have we stopped using our clean, safe tap water in favour of the stuff in plastic bottles?
Un-sustainable waste
The environmental footprint of the bottled water industry is huge - and growing.
In 2007, Europeans drank 50.3 billion litres of bottled water and eventually there has to be somewhere to put all that plastic – 1 million tonnes per year to be more exact.
The bottles are comprised of polyethylene terephthalate or PET and only a small percentage is recycled, with the rest being dumped in landfill sites all over the world. The really unpleasant news is that PET takes 1,000 years to bio-degrade!
Health conscious society
It is easy to understand why the consumption of bottled water in Europe has risen so quickly. Today, our society is more health-conscious than ever before and we understand that water is essential for the well-being of our bodies, thus we've made the choice to consume more and more.
Jake McCall, president of the consultancy firm Second Sight Innovation had this to say on the matter: "The growing groundswell against highly processed and artificial ingredients continues as the trend towards 'natural' accelerates. The increased consumer awareness of health will continue to shape the market in the future."
Limited benefits
The advertising campaigns that endorse these products play to our belief that drinking bottled water will make us younger-looking and healthier. However, the healthy image that bottled water companies such as Britvic and Evian give out is somewhat misleading for the consumer. Mineral water is susceptible to contamination from the plastic and 40% of bottles water starts out as tap water, with minerals being added later.
A study conducted by the Washington DC-based NGO the Earth Policy Institute found that, "bottled water costs 10,000 times more than tap water but is not guaranteed to be any healthier than tap water."
Enterprising for the good of others
Elsewhere in the world, 2 million people die each year from drinking contaminated water and 1 billion people don't have access to clean running water. With this in mind, the fact we take our clean, potable water for granted seem inconceivable.
Although, if we Europeans must drink bottled water, it's easier now to do so with a conscience as there are some excellent schemes that pledge to donate their profits to helping water-sustainability globally.
Ethical water companies such as Frank Water and Thirsty Planet are donating their profits to fund water-development projects in countries such as India and in sub-Saharan Africa. Frank Water was founded in 2005 by the young British entrepreneur, Katie Alcott.
Frank claim that each litre of bottled water sold gives 20 litres of safe, clean water to those in need. In order to do this, they give 100% of their profits to their charity arm, Frank Water Projects, which has to-date funded 4 projects in India, and have helped 48,000 people gain access to clean drinking water. Now that's progressive!