Some useful links…
Go Tap– lots of reading on the environmental impact of bottled water, opinions and stats.
Cheeki Stainless Steel drink bottles
The Story of Bottled Water– (same creator of ‘the story of stuff’)
“Drinking water in Melbourne or Sydney costs around $1.20 a tonne,” says Mr Kiernan. “Australian bottled water costs around $3000 a tonne. And Italian bottled water? About $9000 a tonne. It’s more expensive than petrol…” The Age article.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Bottled water is one of my absolute bugbears. It is tragic and absurd that it has come to this. The Habit of Carrying Water is one of those basic things that has a huge ripple effect. Love the links!
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Glad you liked the links Linda, the Hungry Beast one is especially good I think. It is funny how the world has changed towards this.
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I make an effort to avoid bottled water. I was recently accusd of being grumpy in Harris Farms because I declined to sample a Tasmanian bottled water they were trying to promote. Stating I didn’t ‘believe in bottled water’ caused a bit of shock.
Everything I’ve been reading about Sourdough starters seems to strongly push you towards spring water, which is a shame…
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Richard don’t worry about the spring water for your sourdough starter, tap is fine. Jump into that dough! 🙂
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There are a few things I really struggle to pay for: bottled water and pay parking top the list. I deal with the latter when I have to, but go to great lengths to avoid the former!
Unfortunately, I get through an amazing amount of water each day, so when I’m out my 1 (environmentally friendly) water bottle doesn’t always last the distance. I am well aquainted with possible re-filling stations though 🙂
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It seems more councils are putting in more bubblers which is great, and more places will slowly ban the plastic and putting up refilling stations but….it’s a slow process.
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I never really got the bottled water thing. I don’t mind me a bit of San Pelllegrino sparkling, but for still water it is tap all the way for me! Good for your teeth, your health (building immunity!) and your wallet. You just can’t beat it!
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I adore sparkling water, I haven’t drunk it for years but could happily drink it all day… Soda stream maybe?
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I don’t understand the need for bottled water. I don’t understand the need to be carrying water averywhere. This is a newish trend. We managed to live quite well without having to constantly swig on water all day. What’s wrong with having a drink before you go out???? You really don’t need to be drinking water all the time. It is just a silly trend.
Italians buy lots of bottled water. This is especially alarming here. We have springs beside the river which run all the time. I see some people filling up containers occasionally, but I see more filling their suoermarket trolleys with huge bottles of water. The tap water here is perfectly good. I drink it all the time- as I do in Australia.
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Debra this intrigues me. How many people in Italy do you think would also drink the tap water? I don’t think I ever met anyone that drank it, so I always presumed it was bad. It was always the still water or frizzante in either plastic or some times a refillable glass bottle which were bought by the crate full.
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frightening statistics – I hate how much bottled water is thrust in your face in the stores – yet I confess I like a bit of fizzy water at home
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It’s so easy to take water for granted and sadly most of us do. Tap water is bad enough, never mind the bottled stuff.
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I’ve got a Bobble water bottle for my kids and me!
Filters tap water – or whatever water – as you go.
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There’s bottled water, and then there’s bottled water.
As a child trying to make sense out of growing up in the U.S., bottled water was one of the more absurd elements of cultural nonsense – and it still strikes me as such. But as a traveler in areas of the world less developed, I’ve noted that bottled water sometimes is a culture’s only healthy choice.
When a society apparently values their own investment in clean water – intellectually – but then chooses to reject those same values for some ‘higher’ elitist purpose, that behavior becomes a red flag of caution.
Perhaps our current world economic ‘correction’ will also correct some of this behavior.
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