PacInst: Bottled Water Can Be 2000X More Energy-Intensive Than Tap Water

I got this in an email from the Pacific Institute. I suspect I'll get some comments.

In a newly published article in the February 2009 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters the Pacific Institute estimates that the annual consumption of bottled water in the U.S. in 2007 required the equivalent of between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil—roughly one-third of a percent of total U.S. primary energy consumption.

The article, “Energy Implications of Bottled Water” by researchers Peter H. Gleick and Heather Cooley, is the first peer-reviewed analysis of its kind. Gleick and Cooley find bottled water is up to 2000 times more energy-intensive than tap water. Similarly, bottled water that requires long-distance transport is far more energy-intensive than bottled water produced and distributed locally.

“As bottled water use continues to expand around the world, there is growing interest in the environmental, economic, and social implications of that use, including concerns about waste generation, proper use of groundwater, hydrologic effects on local surface and groundwater, economic costs, and more. But a key concern is how much energy is required to produce and use bottled water,” said article co-author Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute. “It turns out the answer is, a lot.”

The authors note that a single estimate of the energy footprint of bottled water is not possible due to differences among water sources, bottling processes, transportation costs, and other factors. Gleick and Cooley calculate the energy requirements for various stages in bottled water production, including the energy to manufacture the plastic bottles, process the water and the bottles, and transport and cool the final product.

Combining the energy intensities for these stages, the analysis finds that producing bottled water requires between 5.6 and 10.2MJ per liter—as much as 2000 times the energy cost of producing tap water. The authors further estimate that to satisfy global demands, the energy equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil per year is used just to produce the bottles, primarily made of PET plastic, almost all of which are currently made from virgin, not recycled, material.

For water transported short distances, the energy requirements of bottled water are dominated by the energy to produce these plastic bottles. Long-distance transport, however, can lead to energy costs comparable to, or even higher than, the energy to produce the bottle. In the article, the authors calculate the energy costs of three different scenarios for a bottle of water consumed in Southern California—a locally produced bottle and bottled water from both France and Fiji transported to the region.

“With the U.S. consumption of bottled water exceeding 33 billion liters a year, and with intensifying efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, these data should help identify ways to reduce the energy costs of bottled water and may help consumers themselves make more environmentally sustainable choices,” said co-author Heather Cooley, senior research associate at the Pacific Institute.

Here is the article "Energy Implications of Bottled Water".

"No glaciers were harmed in making this water." -- label on Tap'd NY, a brand of bottled NYC tap water

Comments

[Tommy]

Bottled water is a waste of time if you ask me. Water from the tap is just as good as the bottle. Also the fact that billions of tonnes of plastic are wasted, thus adding to the environmental problems that we are facing in modern times. Did any one ever sit down to think where these plastic bottles are dumped !!!

[PAUL F MILLER]

PacInst: Bottled Water Can Be 2000X More Energy-Intensive Than Tap Water .... It strikes me for reasons that I am unable to comprehend, Americans, in particular, choose the OSTRICH position whenever a discussion incurs involving - EXTERNALITIES - what must be holy grail an untouchable subject. Wise individuals for years have attempted to bring to a conscious level the short and the long term implications associated with the EXTERNALITIES of our economy. But we either don't or can not hear. I believe we can not hear because for the past 40 years we have been educated on a program reminiscent of the training of Pavlov's dog's ...

The EXTERNALITIES associated with water are many and benefit mankind would if we but chose to learn and understand what they are and how we contribute. EXTERNALITIES do not go away, we need to understand the ultimate price we pay for everything we do and for every action we take. Then what we do, we do knowingly understanding the consequences.

[PAUL F MILLER]

The article, “Energy Implications of Bottled Water” .... forgive me if my question sounds a bit stupid, but why would anyone not conclude on their own that bottling essentially local tap water, placing it in some fancy plastic bottle, putting it on a truck, transporting it to who knows where, placing it on a shelf in some store, where it is purchased, then transported home, consumed, then the bottle tossed who knows where... be SURPRISED to learn this process is EXPEN$IVE... you think....?

[Julia]

Thank you for sharing this. This is just more evidence that bottled water is a convenience that we really need to cut back on as a society!

[Peter Gleick]

Michael,
Thanks for covering this. You and readers might also be interested in the Science magazine story on the Institute's report: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/226/2
Peter Gleick