Sustainable Milton, a local non-profit organization devoted to promoting green lifestyles, has started a campaign to encourage folks to forsake buying and drinking bottled water in favor of a much cheaper, environmentally conscious and, frankly, common sense alternative – tap water.

Here are some facts regarding bottled water:

• The leading bottled water producers are Coca Cola (Dasani), Pepsi (Aquafina) and Nestle (Poland Springs, San Pellegrino, Arrowhead, Calistoga, Ice Mountain, Perrier, and those are only a few).
• Bottled water is not any more or less healthy than tap water. If you are a child it is likely less healthy because it lacks flouride which is proven to prevent cavities and tooth decay.
• Like tap water, Dasani and Aquafina come from municipal water sources. Check the label; it reads, “municipal water source.” Companies do perform processes like reverse osmosis
• Bottled water does not taste any better than tap water.  Good Morning America and Penn & Teller (the satirists and magicians) both performed taste tests in which people  favored tap water over tap water (GMA 63%, P&T 75%).

In short, a billion dollar industry has been built around something no one needs at least not in Milton, Massachusetts.  People are going out and spending over a $1 a bottle for something that is delivered into their homes for a fraction of a cent. That is good old American marketing muscle at work. But wait; it gets worse. Why? The problem isn’t taste or health related. It’s the bottles. We dispose of 38 billion water bottles a year — that’s about 1 billion worth of plastic. Then there are the costs associated with manufacturing and shipping. Lastly, there is the stress placed on aquifers and water supplies. This information can be found in source articles listed in related links below.

Hence the effort by Sustainable Milton to encourage people to use stainless steel bottles, filling them as needed in lieu of bottled water. Specifically they are requesting support for:

> Support HB3515 – this updated bottle bill requiring a deposit on non-carbonated beverage bottles – the Town has already signed, along with over 100 other MA cities & towns, a petition of support.
> Support HB 778 – this bill would place a 2 year moratorium on new and increased commercial water extraction of water in MA to allow study of the State’s water resources. Currently 79% of the State’s water resources are under medium to high stress.

Buy an 18/8 high quality, food grade stainless steel bottle and use it! You can buy one from them. They make great stocking stuffers but their current supply is going fast. The bottles cost $13 for SM members, $15 for non-members. They will be getting more in shortly and welcome the chance to partner with non-profits seeking fund raising opportunities. The bottles come from kleankanteen. You can learn more about them here. To purchase a bottle or get more information on how to raise funds for your non-profit, please contact Daryl Warner whose email is  daryl@darylproduces.com

Related links:

1. The Value of Tap Water vs. Bottled: An MWRA Chemist’s Case Study Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
2. Penn & Teller: The Truth About Bottled Water; (NOTE: these guys use some four letter language in their program)
3. Good Morning America: Water Taste Test
4. Bottled Water vs Tap Water: Making a Healthy Choice – from the San Francisco Department of Health
5. Message in a bottle – Fast Company Magazine
6. The Bottled Water industry – Part of Water is Life, a class website on water privatization and commodification, produced by students of International Environmental Problems & Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, USA, Spring 2004.