To the editor:
I'd like to share with everyone some "Bottled Water Facts" that are in the current issue of AAA Valley News:
In 2007, Americans purchased more than 8.8 billion gallons of bottled water — or 29.3 gallons per person. That was about 222 half-liter bottles per person.
Of bottled water sold in the U.S., 93 percent is in a single serve bottle that holds 1 liter (about 2 pints) or less.
As much as 25percent to 40 percent of bottled water is tap water — from someone else's community.
Every gallon of bottled water sold requires two additional gallons of water for the manufacture of the plastic bottles and the water purification process.
PET (polyethylene terephthaltate or No. 1) plastic bottles are made from virgin petroleum resources. Producing new PET bottles uses about 18 million barrels of oil each year.
Transporting bottled water from the factory to the retail store consumes another 462 million gallons of oil per year.
Bottled water costs 240 to 1,000 times more per gallon than tap water.
And none of these facts mentions the number of plastic bottles that are thrown out of car windows every day or that a lot of them will not see the recycling box. Sadly, I see lots of them tossed around Georgetown and everywhere we drive.
The bottom line: Not only are we wasting lots and lots of water and oil — we are also contaminating our environment. How does this make sense? Can anyone explain it to me? I would guess not.
BETTE NELSON
Georgetown
