Consumers Regain (Some) Sanity

I received a report about (4.00 / 3)

the quality of my own tap water. I read the report and was pleasantly surprised. San Diego's tap water tested very well in every category, with the exception of a handful of test sites that had some lead (attributed to the plumbing).

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 19:40:00 PM UTC

What Would Also Help (4.00 / 3)

curb our silly consumer tastes for bottled water would be if more states enacted bigger, better bottle bills.  Such bills would expand required deposits to bottles containing non-carbonated drinks, including water, sports beverages, iced tea/lemonade, fruit juices, etc.  Most states that have deposit laws enacted them more than 20 years ago, in an era where those non-carbonated products were just a small fraction of the overall market (and bottled still water was a rarity, not having really gained any traction in the U.S. market until the 1990 Perrier recall).

Sadly, the effort to pass such a expansion in New York died in the (GOP-controlled) State Senate this June.  The Bottle Bill Resource Guide has information on bottle bills around the country, including current campaigns to set up new laws or update those already in existence.

Most of the time, in most locations, bottled water is an unnecessary waste of resources and exists mostly for its own cachet; subjecting the bottles to deposits would hopefully restrain its use somewhat.

Removing bottled water from the shelves and menus of healthy-oriented food stores and restaurants would also be a step in the right direction.

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by: The Maven @ Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 22:01:11 PM UTC

What gets me is the nickle (4.00 / 1)

when I was a little boy and the soda companies wanted the bottles back the deposit was the same on a family sized Coke or Pepsi.

All these years have passed and all of that inflation but it is still five cents.

Getting a deposit on water is important but getting the price up where people will be bothered bringing them back is what I think really matters.

The compactor room in my building is filled with plastic bottles every day. Not even the porter who is dealing in bulk thinks it is worth the effort.  

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by: Eddie C @ Wed Sep 17, 2008 at 01:25:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wow, that brought back some old memories (4.00 / 1)

I bought a lot of comic books when I was a boy (they were twelve cents in my prime boyhood) with money made from scavenging bottles and turning them in for the deposit.  Five cents was good money back then!

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by: DebtorsPrison @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 03:27:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Seltzer water is my weakness (4.00 / 1)

Water? I just drink tap, and never carry it around with me, as I have a fairly camel-like constitution.  My favorite beverage is orange juice, which comes in cartons.

But I also love seltzer, and I hate all those plastic bottles I use up.  I often fondly recall the months I spent in Buenos Aires in the late 80s, when cafes, bars and restaurants all offered glass siphon bottles of seltzer on the menu.  It seemed so festive having that big bottle, and squeezing the handle to shoot some out into your glass with that loud "whooooosh!"

There are ways to do your own seltzer water (this New York Times article details a number of options), but they aren't quite as convenient as those plastic bottles, and perhaps not as cheap, or at least require a bit of an initial investment.

It would be nice to lower my environmental footprint around this particular favorite of mine.

And I also really need to work on my love of long hot showers...

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by: DebtorsPrison @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 03:40:44 AM UTC