Should Governments Ban Bottled Water?
Among many controversial issues, here comes the one hardly thought about by many. Once I heard it, I was not stunned because I have listened to arguments like governments should tax meat and drinking water.
Pollution instigated by the undiscerning throwing away of plastic bottles is a big problem. It is hardly biodegradable and causes many diseases. Amongst many uses, plastic is the fundamental component of bottled water today. Most of us use bottled water to avoid unhealthy side effects of tap water, anything from poorly treated recycled water to the high percentage of unwanted minerals.
In 2019 alone, Americans consumed 14.4 billion gallons of bottled water. That was up 3.6% from the year before in 2018. Such a trend has been a steady climb since 2010.
In 2016, the bottled water sale outperformed soda for the first time and has continued in the same direction in the United States until now. 2020 revenue for bottled water was $61.326 million by June 15, and the overall market is expected to grow to $505.19 billion by 2028.
We can all agree plastics, if not recycled, can have negative consequences in nature. But is banning the answer?
The opponents of the idea argue that banning bottled water will shift the water drinkers to consume plastic bottled sugary drinks, which I think…
