Economics of Bottled Water Part 1

Bottled water is seen as a necessity to many Americans and it is common to see bottled water everywhere. People find bottled water more convenient, refreshing, and healthier than tap water. People tend to prefer bottled water over tap water and they drink it continuously throughout the day. However, many reports prove that none of this is true. Many bottled water taste similar to filtered tap water. As a matter of fact, most of the time bottled water is filtered tap water. Economically it is a better option to buy a filter to filter out the tap. Bottled water is an expensive alternative to tap water that should be avoided because it is a waste of resources, an addition to not recycled waste, and a luxury that Americans have when many third world countries need portable water supply.

In 2007, Americans spent $16.8 billion dollars on bottled water, a twelve percent increase from 2006. Tap water cost less than a penny per ounce so why do so many Americans prefer to buy bottled water at prices more than a dollar per bottle? Not only is it expensive to buy bottled water but it is also expensive to produce them. It takes approximately 72 billion gallons of water to produce a year’s worth of empty plastic bottles. This is a waste of resources when one can simply open up the faucet and drink straight from the tap.