Being Swedish I have never really understood the bottled water industry (if you order water in Sweden expect tap water.) Anyway, I just cannot see the purpose of paying for water, not least in a restaurant where they charge you double the price (actually 1000 times the price of tap water!) But it seems as if ordering tap water in the UK is a sign of being cheap; so many times have I experienced the the waiter’s raised eyebrows…

Well, now it seems as if it’s suddenly OK. A recent Evening Standard newspaper campaign encourages restaurants in London to make water freely available: Water on Tap aims to slash the negative impact on the environment of bottled water. Apparently, Britons drink three billion bottles every year, and half a billion are flown or shipped from overseas.

According to the Evening Standard, transporting bottled water in Britain is estimated to produce 33,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the annual energy use of 6,000 homes.

Also, if you think that drinking bottled water would be safer, you’re wrong. Research commissioned by a Swiss-based conservation group indicates that bottled water is not healthier or safer to drink than tap water. And if that wasn’t enough: bottled water sells for up to 1,000 times the price of tap water!

However, The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) does acknowledge that bottled water is generally safer in areas where tap water is contaminated. In this way it becomes the only way for people to survive, like the recent earthquake in China which lead to rumours that the water might be polluted with ammonia, subsequently saw a boost in the demand of bottled water. Nevertheless, to me it’s seem to be pretty logical: if you can drink tap water, do! – It both saves you and your budget.

For further reading on the ‘Bottled Water Industry’ click here.