The Water Bottle Controversy Again

This is my response to an article on the Bag It web site:

Encouraging people to switch to reusable is a great way to go. I'm not sure that legislating bans on water bottles is the right thing to do. There are too many instances where bottled water is a necessity, not a luxury, and "hydration stations" aren't going to be the answer 100% of the time.

I live in a hurricane prone area; I store up bottled water for emergencies. I also have refillable containers for tap water, 5 gallon water bottles, and so forth, but there isn't always warning. We had a recent contamination event, unrelated to hurricanes, where we couldn't use our tap water for several days; I was so relieved to have my supply of bottled water on hand. I use glass and/or refillable containers for drinking on a day to day basis, but for emergencies it's good to know that bottled water is readily available. Ask hurricane Katrina or Andrew survivors- bottled water meant the difference between life and death to a lot of people.

Legislation should look at reducing the use of plastic packaging, perhaps, or bottling water in some other type of material. Cans, possibly? Something biodegradable? Go back to glass? Soda should not be left out- when you pick on water bottle users, look at soda bottles as well. They are also made of plastic and any plastic bottle bans should include soda as well as water.

As far as comparing bottled to tap, I go by taste- I can taste the difference. There are some brands of bottled that taste like tap; I don't buy those. I can taste a HUGE difference between my preferred brand and tap, however; I easily passed a "blind taste test" for a frugal relative once. (He felt I shouldn't be wasting the money on bottled water.) I do not like tap water; I do not like brands of bottled water that taste like tap. There are even some pricey brands that taste of plastic; don't like those either.

In case you were wondering, I used to drink regular bottled water but I currently drink seltzer water that comes in glass. I will pour some into a refillable bottle when I go out. I'm not using plastic, but there is the impact of shipping to consider, but then again the glass is recycled.

I exist, I matter, and I have a right to drink SOMETHING I like!