Fact Sheet: Liam McGeath

Argument: We should stop/reduce production of bottled water

URLs for sources:
1.http://nation.time.com/2013/12/17/san-francisco-may-be-first-major-city-to-ban-plastic-waterbottles/
2. http://thewaterproject.org/bottled_water_wasteful
3. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126833795
General overview:
I want to show that bottled water is not only more expensive but also bad for the environment. In
some cases its less clean that tap water and costs over 1000 times more. Gas even costs less a
liter of gas in the US still costs less than a liter of bottled water. Also most bottled water is just
tap water put in a bottle.
Facts:
- San Francisco would ban the sale of plastic water bottles at any events on public land with
more than 100 people and prevent the city from spending any public money on bottled water.
The big picture is to radically reduce the amount of plastic bottled water in the city,(1)
- Environmental advocates emphasize that single-use bottles take centuries to decompose and
that their transportation creates pollution. (1)
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 32 million tons of plastic waste was
generated in 2011, slightly up from 31 million in 2010 which breaks down to about half a
pound per person each day. (1)
- Bottles used to package water take over 1,000 years to biodegrade and if incinerated, they
produce toxic fumes. It is estimated that over 80% of all single-use water bottles used in the U.S.
simply become litter (2)
- Recycling is only feasible in limited circumstances because only PET bottles can be recycled.
All other bottles are discarded. Only 1 out of 5 bottles are sent to the recycle bin. (2)
-"In the United States, bottled water costs between $0.25 and $2 per bottle while tap water costs
less than a penny. According to Bottled Water Blues.com, about 90% of manufacturer's costs is
from making the bottle, label, and cap." (2)
- In september of 2007 a new football stadium was built for UCF (university of Central Florida)
the Fans found out the hard way that their new $54-million stadium had been built without a
single drinking water fountain. And for "security" reasons, no one could bring water into the
stadium. The only water available for overheated fans was $3 bottled water from the
concessionaires or water from the bathroom taps, and long before the end of the game, the
concessionaires had run out of bottled water. Eighteen people were taken to local hospitals and
sixty more were treated by campus medical personnel for heat-related illnesses. (3)
- Approximately 85 million bottles of water are consumed every day in the United States. (3)
- All of a sudden public water fountains have vanished and bottled water is everywhere: in
every convenience store, beverage cooler, and vending machine. (3)
- Airport travelers have no choice but to buy bottled water at exorbitant prices because their
own personal water is considered a security risk. Celebrities tout their current favorite brands of
bottled water to fans. People with too much money and too little sense pay $50 or more for plain
water in a fancy glass bottle covered in fake gems, or for "premium" water supposedly bottled in
some exotic place or treated with some magical process. (3)

- The average American is now drinking around 30 gallons, or 115 liters, of bottled water each
year, most of it from single-serving plastic containers. (3)
- How do you convince consumers to buy something that is essentially the same as a far cheaper
and more easily accessible alternative? You promote perceived advantages of your product, and
you emphasize the flaws in your competitor's product. For water bottlers this means selling
safety, style, and convenience, and playing on consumer's fears. Fear is an effective tool.
Especially fear of sickness and of invisible contamination. If we can be made to fear our tap
water, the market for bottled water skyrockets. (3)
-"Tap water is poison!" declares another flyer my neighbor Roy received in the mail in early
2007 touting the stock of Royal Spring Water Inc., a Texas bottled water company. "Americans
no longer trust their tap water. . . . Clearly, people are more worried than ever about what comes
out of their taps." (3)
1. Steinmetz, Katy. "San Francisco May Be First Major City to Ban Plastic Water Bottles. 17
Dec 2013. Time. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://nation.time.com/2013/12/17/san-francisco-may-be-firstmajor-city-to-ban-plastic-water-bottles/>.
2. "Bottled Water Is Wasteful". 8 Sept. 2014.
<http://thewaterproject.org/bottled_water_wasteful>
3. Gleick, Peter. "War On Tap: America's Obsession With Bottled Water. NPR. 8 Sept
2014.<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126833795>.

Fact Sheet: Liam McGeath

Argument: We should stop/reduce production of bottled water
URLs for sources:
1.http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled/bottled-water-bad-for-people-and-theenvironment/
2. http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp
3. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-good-reasons-to-quit-drinking-bottled-water.html
4.http://grist.org/news/san-francisco-moves-to-ban-plastic-water-bottles-scoffs-at-every-othersad-city/
5. http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/02/your-water-bottle-one-quarter-full-oil
6. http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp (use link)
General Overview:
I want to show that bottled water is not only more expensive but also bad for the environment. In
some cases its less clean that tap water and costs over 1000 times more. Gas even costs less a
liter of gas in the US still costs less than a liter of bottled water. Also most bottled water is just
tap water pout in a bottle.
Facts:

- In 2009 in the US we spent 10.6 billion dollars on bottled water over 1000 times the cost of tap
water.
- Most bottled water is actually tap water just bottled.
- Tap water in the US has to go through more safety regulations than bottled water does.
Government agencies even allow the test results from the tap water to be available to the public.
Even though bottled water is supposed to be more pure, a test was conducted in 2008 on 10
different brands of bottled water. The test reviled over 38 contaminants in the water.
- It is estimated that 25% of bottled water is just tap water in a bottle but it still costs more than
tap water.
- About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical
contaminants at levels above strict state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time,
some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems. (2)
- Of all the bottles we use only 13% actually get recycled. In 2005 around 2 million tons of
plastic bottles ended up in landfills instead of being recycled.
- National Geographic estimates that 17 million gallons of crude oil is used on an annual basis
to produce plastic bottles. (3)
- If you fill a water bottle of the way with oil, this is about how much oil is used to
manufacture that one bottle. (3)
- According to MSNBC, the use of water bottles increased dramatically from 3.3 billion sold in
1997 to 15 billion in 2002. (3)
- Bottled water also has an undeniable environmental impact. In 2007, production of water
bottles for U.S. consumption alone used up to 54 million barrels of oil. Seventy-five percent of
plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead ending up on beaches, in rivers, and partially full of
unidentified liquid on nearly all the empty bus seats youve ever tried to sit in. (4)
- Two big pieces of news out of San Francisco this week: Barry Bonds started a brief stint
coaching for the Giants, and the city made significant progress toward outlawing plastic water
bottles. As a result, the average level of self-satisfaction exhibited by San Franciscans increased
by a factor of three. (4)
- Researchers at the Pacific Institute in Oakland California ran the numbers and found that
bottle production alone wastes 50 million barrels of oil a year (that's 2.5 days of US oil
consumption). (5)
Possible Solutions:
Works Cited:
1. "Bottled Water Costs Consumers and the Environment. 6 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled/bottled-water-bad-for-people-and-theenvironment/>.
2. "Bottled Water". 25 Apr 2008. 6 Sep. 2014.
<http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp>
3. "7 Good Reasons to Quit Drinking Bottled Water. 10 Mar 2012. 6 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-good-reasons-to-quit-drinking-bottled-water.html>.
4. Andrews, Eve. "San Francisco Moves to Ban Plastic Water Bottles, Scoffs at Every Other Sad
City. 11 Mar 2014. 6 Sep 2014. <http://grist.org/news/san-francisco-moves-to-ban-plasticwater-bottles-scoffs-at-every-other-sad-city/>.

5. Whitty, Julia. "Your Water Bottle Is One-Quarter Oil. 27 Feb 2009. 6 Sep 2014.
<http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/02/your-water-bottle-one-quarter-full-oil>.
Research For Extra Info:
http://www.nmw.co.rs/nmw/index_en.php?page=273 (history of bottled water)
http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-bottled-water-industry-2011-10?op=1 Video
http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/blog/2009/03/a-brief-history-of-bottled-water-in-america.html
http://www.watercoolerseurope.eu/news/a-brief-history-of-the-bottled-water-industry
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/outdoored/programs/waterbottl
efactpages.pdf
http://www.efbw.eu/index.php?id=39
http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/blog/2009/03/a-brief-history-of-bottled-water-in-america.html