My kids love their reusable stainless steel water bottles–I got my son a pirate one emblazoned with a skull-and-crossbones and threatened the plank if the lost it. They know that we’re trying to not buy plastic water bottles because a. they’re plastic, duh, and b. the water inside could be full of god-knows-what, because it’s never tested.
Say, what?
Yup, you heard right, commercially sold water doesn’t get tested by the EPA, while water from the tap is required to be tested, and the results posted, each week. I did a little video on it, if you want to check it out. I found out that only two out of 10 plastic water bottles are recycled, meaning the rest go to the landfill to live for eternity. And that if you drink the average 10 gallons a month, you could be spending as much as $50 on water. Yikes! That’s right up there with gas!
But back to the dirty little secret of the water industry: The water inside could be filthy.
Obviously, this is one they really, really don’t want to get out. Last week, Nestle Waters North America, which sells Zephyrhills and other brands to the tune of about $4 billion a year (that $50 a month really adds up), threatened to sue Miami-Dade County in Florida for an ad that said bottled water isn’t tested, while tap water is.
There is no brand named in the ad. Noboby pointed the finger at Nestle, which is based in Connecticut. Yet they threatened to sue.
Think somebody’s a little insecure about their product?
But it’s not like we can avoid the bottled water altogether. A few days ago we were out and I’d bought a plastic water bottle because the barnacle (read: baby) was dehydrating at a rapid pace and a water fountain was not to be had. I had the empty bottle in my hand, headed for the trashcan when my son, the (almost) 10-year-old eco warrior, grabbed it. “Not the trash, Mom!” he yelled, rescuing the bottle from a million years in the landfill. We took it home in my purse and recycled it.
I’ve trained them well.
