If you’re concerned about what’s coming out of your tap, you should understand that the FDA’s standards for bottled water are even less stringent than the EPA’s regulations for big-city tap water — Plus:
| READ YOUR BOTTLED WATER LABEL... It holds the key to understanding its purity ~ not the cold, refreshing name. |
- As much as 40% of these bottles that we pay $1 to $4 per gallon for, comes directly from city water supplies!
- the FDA has no governance on the bottled water if it is bottled and sold in the same state.
- Also, all carbonated or sparkling waters are completely exempt from FDA guidelines that set specific contamination limits.
- Now, just add to that the ecological impact of the bottle, the label, the cap and the transportation…
II Look at the info that is out there:
Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?
An extensive report by the NDRC on a four year study of the bottled water industry.
> http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp
Don't miss the summary of the NRDC's Test Results:
Bottled Water Contaminants Found
Take a peek at your favorite brand – it’s an eye opener!
> http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/appa.asp
The Truth About Bottled Water
Penn & Teller’s tongue in cheek, but honest expose on the water that we drink.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc
II What about the plastic bottles used?
Although most water bottles are made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (#1, PET or PETE), the most recyclable plastic, there are concerns about the leaching of an endocrine-disrupting (and possibly carcinogenic) phthalate, especially with months long storage or exposure to heat.
You owe it to yourself to read more about plastics and the impact on our health, the more we looked into it, the more we felt it should be part of this site: Read more about Plastics >
II Refilling your own bottles?
If you favor colorful Nalgene water bottles are made from Lexan, a polycarbonate plastic (usually indicated by #7 in the recycling triangle) beware that they are known to leach low levels of bisphenol A (BPA), a suspected hormone disruptor.
| SNIFF-IT! If you smell plastic — it means its degrading — pitch it into the recycle bin. |
Note that repeated long term use, washing in hot water and drinking water that’s been sitting in the container for 24 hours or more, raises the risk of chemical leaching. Keep your eye out for Nalgene made from safer #2, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and #4, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), plastics, that may be safer.
> http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/nalgene
Read more about Plastics >
