Virgil Evetts

 

 

I’ve been having a bit of an internal debate lately about the pros and cons of bottled still water (of the Pump et al varieties). It doesn’t concern me that much of it consists of little more than filtered tap-water – it doesn’t purport to be anything else (with exception of that curious phenomenon, the Sports Water).  Nor am I worried about the risk of contamination from the various carcinogens and pseudo-hormones that may or may not migrate from plastic to water -a deep breath of Auckland air probably does more to bother your immune system.  My concern is more a matter of ethics and priorities.

The cult of the water bottle is a powerful force. To younger consumers a bottle of water is almost as indispensible as a mobile phone.  It’s an accessory.  And this has not happened by mere chance, but by way of a concerted effort from both the beverage industry and health authorities (not that they are in cahoots), to convince people of the sexiness and health benefits attributable to drinking water. It’s a little worrying that we need to be told to do something that should be instinctive and is essential for our survival, but whatever works, I guess.

As someone who works in the education sector, I can tell you from experience that hydrated children are more effective learners than the parched alternative. The contrast is extraordinary and the evidence overwhelming.  It has been a delight on a number of levels to observe the slow but steady replacement of luridly coloured soft drinks with water in packed lunches over the last decade (although there is still plenty of room for improvement here).  Soft drinks are known contributors to obesity and type 2 diabetes rates, and in my view barely rate as safe for human consumption – let alone as dietary staples. So to me, this is an immeasurably important social change.

But.

And this is a very serious “but”.  Do these benefits outweigh the negative environmental impacts caused by the resulting plastic waste?  Food-grade plastics are not easily recyclable – or to qualify that, recycled food-grade plastic has limited industrial use, and the surplus slag (shredded or pelletized waste plastic) in the world today considerably outweighs any demand.  So it might as well be going into landfills – and much of it does.  While this is also true of the packaging from most of the foods and drinks we buy, the difference here is that water is piped into our homes, offices, schools, sports clubs etc.  It doesn’t need to be bottled; we just seem to prefer it that way.

Further to this, and it might sound like niggling (hey, I’m nothing if not pedantic) – what about the energy used manufacturing the bottles, the petrol used in shipping the finished product, the associated carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere…?

I should probably add that I’m very fond of bottled sparkling mineral water. I don’t drink it as an alternative to tap water; I drink it as a beverage in its own right. I like the flavour, the way it tickles my palate, and I think it enhances the overall dining experience.  Maybe that takes away my right to grumble?  I don’t care; there’s no law against hypocrisy.

What do you think?

Is it more important to have a hydrated population- especially children or to reduce what is in this case completely unnecessary plastic waste?

 

 

 

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