The International Bottled Water Association wants us all to know that, guys, bottled water isn’t THAT wasteful. I mean, sure, yes, it’s taking a product you can pour from the faucet into a reusable cup and putting it in disposable plastic bottles, but HEY LOOK, it only takes 1.39 liters of water to create a liter of water! (The 1.39 L figure includes the liter of water that you’re actually meant to drink — that doesn’t even include packaging, which could suck up another 3-6 liters.) Now, come on, give them some credit, because that is less than soda (2.02 L of water for a liter of soda) and beer (4 L of water for a liter of beer).
The IBWA is very proud of this figure! As a spokesman told NPR, “Bottled water products are extremely efficient in terms of water use compared to some other packaged beverages.”
Stop it. Just stop it. Or, fine — have it your way, but if we’re going to concede water as a “packaged beverage,” we want beer as a municipally provided utility in exchange.
