1. Environmental Health Factors Which Surround in Bottled Water
Kidest G. Assefa
MPH Student
Walden University PH
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Heick
Winter 2009
I am Kidest Assefa and I am an MPH student at Walden University.
The goal of my presentation is to educate a youth audience to increase knowledge of the environmental health factors which surround bottled water and motivate youth to decrease the consumption of bottled water in my community, San Jose, CA. There are many stakeholders including the higher schools in the San Jose Unified School District and the Bay Area Science Alliance.

2. Learning Objectives By the end of the presentation, you should be able to
Understand key differences between tap water and bottled water
Understand the environmental and health impact of recycling water bottles
Understand the energy and cost associated with bottled water
Understand the overall problems which are surrounded bottled water
By the end of the presentation, we should be able to understand the following objectives:
Understand the energy and cost associated with bottled water
Understand the environmental and health impact of recycling water bottles
Understand key differences between tap water and bottled water
Understand the overall problems which are surrounded in bottled water

3. I am going to start by asking a question.
Is tap water or bottled water cleaner and safer?

4. Bottle Water Vs. Tap Water
Myth
Bottle water is cleaner and healthier than tap water (FWW, 2009)
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
According to Food and Water Watch (2009), bottle water companies mislead communities by creating a misconception that bottle water is cleaner, safer, and healthier than tap water.

5. Bottled Water Myth
According to Balance Water, “this product is suitable for both sexes and all ages. The water helps with energy, concentration, attention and balancing sleeping patterns. The effect varies with the individual. It is ideal as the main drinking water for anyone who needs to be focused - from business to studying through to yoga and sports that require calm concentration.”

6. Bottle Water Vs. Tap Water Cont.
You can read the slide and see key differences between tap water and bottled water.
Reference
Hubpages: Is bottled water better than tap water? Retrieved on Feb 2, 2010, from hubpages.com/hub/Bottled-waterTap-Water

7. Bottle Water Vs. Tap Water Cont.
Facts
Federal, state, and local water safety regulation and enforcement is weaker than of tap water safety standards (FWW, 2009)
Approximately one-third of tested bottle water brands violated the regulations (FWW, 2009)
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
Any safety testing of bottle water is performed by the companies themselves and approximately one-third of test bottle water brands have violated the regulation (FWW, 2009). For example, according to a study, the most common contaminants in bottled water were arsenic and synthetic organic carcinogens, and exceeded the safety standard for microbiological purity. (FWW, 2009).

8. Who Consumes More Bottled Water?
Younger and health-oriented people are driving the market's growth (Bullers, 2000).
Reference
Bullers, A FDA Consumer Magazine. Bottled Water: Better Than the Tap?. Retrieved on Feb 5, 2010, from
According to Bullers, 2000, younger, health-oriented people are driving the market's growth. As more people become more health conscious, bottle water consumption is growing dramatically in the United States and around the world.

9. Why Do People Drink Bottled Water?
As you can see on the pie chart, people have many different reasons why they choose bottled water over tap water. However, worried about tap water safety is the main reason (35% + 12%) why people choose bottled water.
Source: American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Consumer Attitude Survey on Water Quality Issues, p. 19 (1993)

10. Bottled Water Cost
According to Franklin, (2006), consumers in the U.S. bought 37 billion bottles of water in 2005.
Every year in the U.S., it takes more than
47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water bottles.
Reference
Gitlitz, J and Franklin, P Container Recycling Institute: Water, Water Everywhere: The Growth of Non-carbonated Beverages in the United States.
According to Franklin, (2006), consumers in the U.S. bought 37 billion bottles of water in 2005.
Every year in the U.S., it takes more than 47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water bottles.

11. Water Bottles Recycling Impacts on the Environment
As you can see in the photos, the waste impact of water bottles on the environment is obvious.
Photos © iStockphoto/Millanovic/Martijn Gouman

12. Bottled Water’s Environmental Impacts
It takes about 2,000 years for one plastic bottle to breakdown in a landfill
Out of all plastic bottles that are produced in the United States, only 14% are being recycled, but 86% of them are thrown away.
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from,
Think about how many plastic bottles are piling up in our landfills, oceans and communities because plastic was invented 140 years ago and it is all still here. As you can see the slide, it takes about 2,000 years for one plastic bottle to breakdown in a landfill
Out of all plastic bottles that are produced in the United States, only 14% are being recycled, but 86% of them are thrown away.

13. Photo @ liveearth.org/.../2009/03/bottled_water_big.jpg
These images are evident that how much waste is generated due to the usage of bottled water; even with recycling, there is still an overall negative impact to our environment.
liveearth.org/.../2009/03/bottled_water_big.jpg

14. Bottled Water’s Environmental Impacts Cont.
In the US alone, bottled water causes over 60,000,000 plastic bottles to be produced.
Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced in manufacturing the plastic bottles
Millions of gallons of fuel are wasted on daily transporting filtered tap water across America and around the world
It requires 3 times as much water to make the bottle as it does to fill it
Use of fossil fuels and the related emissions from transporting dense, heavy containers of water throughout America
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
In the US alone, bottled water causes over 60,000,000 plastic bottles to be produced.
Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced in manufacturing the plastic bottles
Millions of gallons of fuel are wasted on daily transporting filtered tap water across America and around the world
It requires 3 times as much water to make the bottle as it does to fill it
Use of fossil fuels and the related emissions from transporting dense, heavy containers of water throughout America
All of the above have environmental impact either directly or indirectly.

15. Bottled Water’s Environmental Impacts Cont.
Eliminating bottled water from being produced would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road in a year and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere (FWW, 2009).
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
Eliminating bottled water from being produced would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road in a year and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

16. The Health Risks From Bottled Water
All plastic bottles leach synthetic chemicals into water when they are exposed to heat or stored for long period of time.
Every year, about 1.5 million tons of plastic go into water bottles globally, using processes that release toxics such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene.
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
All plastic bottles have potential health risks when they are exposed to high temperature or stored for long periods of time because these process have the potential to leach some of the synthetic chemicals. Thus, when these chemical are released into the water and consumed by humans, they may increase the risk of getting some types of cancers.

17. The Potential Benefits of Bottled Drinking Water
World Health Organization (WHO, 2009) has recognized that some bottled waters have natural minerals, which are believed to have the benefits to human health.
Bottled water is handy incase of emergency although there are other alternatives like substituting with reusable water bottles for tap water use
The taste and convenience of bottled water are usually better than tap water, but it doesn’t outweigh the problems which are surrounded in bottled water.
Reference
Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from
WHO Bottled Drinking Water. Accessed on Jan 23, 2010, from
Lets discuss about the potential benefits of bottled drinking water.
According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2009), some bottled waters have natural minerals, which are believed to have the benefits to human health.
Bottled water is handy incase of emergency although there are other alternatives like substituting with reusable water bottles for tap water use
The taste and convenience of bottled water are usually better than tap water, but it doesn’t outweigh the problems which are surrounded in bottled water.

18. Tap water is more cleaner and cheaper
We can purify tap water with cheap home purifying system; it convenient and environmental friendly. According to the 2009 L.A. green bean report, “tap water is, on average, 500 times cheaper than bottled water.”
L.A. Green Bean The Breaking the Bottled Water Habit Campaign ttp://

19. How can we make tap water more cleaner and portable?
As you can see from these images, we can make tap water more cleaner by using cheaper home purification equipments, and also make it handy by using reusable portable bottles.

20. Major TV Coverage on Battled Water http://www. youtube. com/watch
Please watch this video by clicking the play button.
In order to watch this video, you have to be online. You can also use the web-link to access the video in

21. References
Bullers, A FDA Consumer Magazine. Bottled Water: Better Than the Tap?. Retrieved on Feb 5, 2010, from Food and Water Watch Take Back the Water. Accessed on Jan 24, 2010, from Gitlitz, J and Franklin, P Container Recycling Institute: Water, Water Everywhere: The Growth of Non-carbonated Beverages in the United States. Hubpages: Is bottled water better than tap water? Retrieved on Feb 2, 2010, from hubpages.com/hub/Bottled-waterTap-Water L.A. Green Bean The Breaking the Bottled Water Habit Campaign. Retrieve on Feb 5, 2010, from WHO Bottled Drinking Water. Accessed on Jan 23, 2010, from
This slide contains references.

22. Additional Resources
By following each link, you can access more information on the environmental health factors which surround bottled water.

23. Additional Resources These are the stakeholders websites and contact information
San Jose Unified School District: High Schools
(each schools websites and more information are found in the above web-link)
a) Gunderson High Schools. 622 Gaundabert Lane San José, CA
b) Leland High School Camden Avenue San José, CA 9512.
c) Lincoln High School. 555 Dana Avenue San José, CA
d) Pioneer High School Blossom Hill Road San José, CA
e) San José High Academy. 275 North 24th Street San José, CA
f) Willow Glen High School Cottle Avenue San José, CA
g) Broadway High School Speak Lane San José, CA (
h) Downtown College Prep - Charter School The Alameda San José, CA
Bay Area Science Alliance (BASA): City of San Jose Environmental Service Department Watershed Protection – Youth Watershed Education Team (YWET)
777 North First Street, Suite 300
San Jose, California 95112
Phone:
These are the stakeholders websites and contact information.

24. Questions?
I would like to thank all of you for taking your time for this presentation. I hope this presentation increases your knowledge about the environmental health problems which are surrounded bottled water. It requires everyone of us contribution and effort to keep our community healthy.
If you have any questions, you can me at Thank you for your time!