A new study from the Washington DC based environmental group the Earth Policy Institute has concluded that production of bottled water is seriously damaging the environment. The group claims that the manufacture of bottled water costs 10,000 times more than that of tap water, due to the massive resources required to draw the water and add minerals, as well as packaging and worldwide distribution. The plastic bottles it comes in can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and in industrialised countries bottled water is no more pure and healthy than that from a tap. Leading activists and high profile environmentalists have voiced their approval of the study, with Dr Michael Warhurst of Friends of the Earth claiming bottled water companies are wasting resources and exacerbating climate change.
The world consumed around 154 billion litres of bottled water in 2004, an increase of 57% in half a decade, with the average person in the UK drinking 33 litres.
