[DesuMaiden]

This link says it all.

http://environment.about.com/od/greenli ... _water.htm

Read this quote.

The two scientists estimate that just producing the plastic bottles for bottled-water consumption worldwide uses 50 million barrels of oil annually—enough to supply total U.S. oil demand for 2.5 days.

Of course, 50 million barrels of oil per year is a drop-in-the-bucket compared to the 30 billion barrels of oil we use early around the globe. But 50 million barrels of oil is still a lot of oil. That's more than the total amount of oil some countries consume every year.

I think we should do away with bottled water. Or we should only use recycled plastic for bottled water.

[Gorm]

In Sweden (a small market) 93.9 % of bottles for water, cola, whatever, is recycled. We have a system called "pant" were a small surcharge is added when you buy a bottle (of whatever). You get the money back when you recycle them in the store again.

[dolanbaker]

The thread headline is a bit misleading, it really should say that "Disposable plastic bottles are a major user of oil".

[dashster]

Bottled water also has to get delivered to a store (or to your home if those huge "bottles"), instead of being pumped down a pipe I assume involves the usage of electricity, but not oil.

[Tanada]

Bottled water also has to get delivered to a store (or to your home if those huge "bottles"), instead of being pumped down a pipe I assume involves the usage of electricity, but not oil.

You beat me too it. The big cost of bottled water is not the manufacturing, it is the distribution. Every one of those bottles that leaves the plant is put on a truck or train and shipped up too several hundred miles. To haul something most people can get from their kitchen faucet virtually free.

[ROCKMAN]

Folks - Hate to ruin the chat but the primary source of all plastics is not oil but NG and NGL/LPG. In 2010 about 400 BILLION cubic feet of NG (1.7% of total consumption) and 200 million bbls of NGL/LPG (2.7% of total petroleum consumption) were used to make plastic in the US alone. Nearly all the NGL/LPG was used for feedstock and nearly all the NG was consumed as fuel in the manufacturing process. And addition about 65 BILLION kwh were used, about 1.7% of US electricity consumption.

[PeakOiler]

I've been drinking rainwater off my rooftops for years now. Versus bottled water, it would be an interesting exercise to estimate how much money and energy I've may have saved instead of buying water from the grocery.

I've done the calculation before, but now I have years of more data to consider.

btw, the rains yesterday topped off a few of the rainwater tanks, including the 2500 gallon tank.

[kublikhan]

They started making bottles out of plant based plastic:

Coca-Cola introduced PlantBottle™ packaging – the first-ever fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made partially from plants and has since distributed more than 15 billion of the breakthrough bottles in 25 countries. “We have committed publicly to convert all of our PET plastic bottles to PlantBottle packaging by 2020.” The innovation has boosted sales of key brands like Dasani.

PlantBottle packaging offers the same functionality and recyclability as traditional PET plastic, but with a lighter carbon footprint and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. The packaging uses natural sugars found in plants to make ingredients identical to fossil-based ingredients traditionally used in polyester fibers and resin for bottles.

No brand has done this more effectively than Dasani, which used PlantBottle to reverse several years of volume decline in the U.S. at the height of the recession. PlantBottle packaging resonated with Dasani drinkers, who saw the brand as a sustainable packaging leader. More people started buying Dasani – and more often. Dasani volume in the U.S. increased 12 percent in 2011, outpacing the bottled water category by more than 2.5 times, and brand health metrics also improved.

15 Billion and Counting

[dolanbaker]

Folks - Hate to ruin the chat but the primary source of all plastics is not oil but NG and NGL/LPG. In 2010 about 400 BILLION cubic feet of NG (1.7% of total consumption) and 200 million bbls of NGL/LPG (2.7% of total petroleum consumption) were used to make plastic in the US alone. Nearly all the NGL/LPG was used for feedstock and nearly all the NG was consumed as fuel in the manufacturing process. And addition about 65 BILLION kwh were used, about 1.7% of US electricity consumption.

Correct, but transporting them around uses a significant amount of oil, but I suppose that if the bottles were glass then even more fuel would be needed to move them as they'll be heavier.

[ROCKMAN]

Donlan - "Correct, but transporting them around uses a significant amount of oil" . True. But, then again, don't all consumables...such as beer, hot dogs, milk, etc? So I don't get how bottled water gets classified as a "major user of oil". OTOH I never really understood the need for so much bottled water. My tap water is just fine and costs only a fraction of bottled water. And, when lemons are cheap, I convert it to lemonade. The perfect thirst quencher IMHO. LOL.