A walk into the soda aisle of your local grocery store will likely present the routine artifacts and items of the beverage industry: Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew and the off-brand alchemy that sits in between. Beyond these drinks lies a seemingly tame sub-section dedicated to the plastic arts: the packaged water bottle section.
This consumer product is riddled with lies, sly marketing tactics and a lack of utility. The water bottle industry is a scam, and we, the citizens, are swindled.
The bulk of bottle producers will harp on their bottled water’s purity and unadulterated content, touting the bottled version as a cleaner, safer alternative to tap water. If you buy bottles, there is a good chance you have echoed this sentiment, as approximately 40 percent of Americans believe bottled water is safer than tap. Well, in most cases, you would be wrong.
For most Americans, bottled water and tap water are the same thing. Testing-wise, though, tap water wins out. Once a week, bottled water facilities are required to test for coliform bacteria, the primary bacteria found in human and animal waste. In contrast, municipalities test more than 100 times a month due to guidelines put out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
To ensure quality, the EPA requires all public water plants to report the contaminant count of their water in a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). These reports are easy to find and peruse — you might be surprised by what you find.
As a…
