Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 7.1
U.S. Bottled Water Market
Volume and Producer Revenues 2000-2009
Millions of
Gallons
Annual %
Change
Millions of
Dollars
Annual %
Change
Ye a r
2000
4,725.1
—
$6,113.0
—
2001
5,185.3
9.7%
$6,880.6
12.6%
2002
5,795.7
11.8%
$7,901.4
14.8%
2003
6,269.8
8.2%
$8,526.4
7.9%
2004
6,806.7
8.6%
$9,169.5
7.5%
2005
7,538.9
10.8%
$10,007.4
9.1%
2006
8,253.5
9.5%
$10,857.8
8.5%
2007
8,757.4
6.1%
$11,551.5
6.4%
2008
8,665.6
-1.0%
$11,178.5
-3.2%
2009
8,454.0
-2.5%
$10,595.0
-5.2%
Source:
Beverage Marketing Corporation.
publication
Beverage World
(http://www.beverageworld.com/content/
category/31). Bottled Water of the World (http://fi newaters.com) is
another place to check out the plethora of bottled waters.
Whatever your preferences, the cost of bottled water becomes
staggering when you factor in packaging, production, and the water
required for those processes. The Environmental Law Foundation,
an Oakland, California-based organization committed to improving
environmental quality (http://envirolaw.org), found in a 2003 study
that one bottle of water costs from 240 to 10,000 times more than
tap water, depending on the origin of that bottled water. That group
also reported that 10,000 gallons of tap water could be bought for the
amount that one bottle of Evian water costs to produce and purchase.
Environmental Law Foundation numbers aside, realistically it
takes water to bottle water. The resource is needed to produce the
power to produce the petroleum to produce the plastic, to package
the product, to ship the product, and so on.
However, to be fair, the International Bottled Water Association
(IBWA) (http://www.bottledwater.org/default.htm) is quick to
point out that bottled water containers are “fully recyclable.” The
industry group also reminds consumers that despite the reports by
various groups on the pollution dangers of tap water, bottled water
