I’ll admit that I once purchased a bottle of VOSS “artesian” water, which is imported from Norway, at the outrageous price of $5.99 for a whole 800ml.  It seems as ridiculous today as it did to me months ago but I wanted a reusable water container to put next to my desk since I’m prone to spillage and the Nalgene bottle I bought about six months back had been deemed unsafe by Health Canada.  That and…c’mon, you have to be a bit curious what a five dollar bottle of water is like.

Other than those weird metallic tasting mineral waters I had most of the time backpacking through Europe, I struggle to really taste the difference with water.  Sure, it tastes clean and pure but so does water from my tap.

The recent ban on bottled water across Canada has been met with mixed reviews.  Many folks still believe that bottled water is a safer alternative to filling their cup from a tap or a water fountain.  This may be true in many other parts of the world.  I mean, you should never drink water in Mexico, for example, but Canada is home to one of the largest, if not the largest, reserves of clean drinking water in the world.  Other than the unfortunate mudslides that contaminated our water supply a few years back, the water from our taps is as clean as that you find in your supermarket.

In fact, it has revealed several times that many common brands of bottled water are nothing more than tap water except with a fancy label on it.  I don’t have a link for you but I’m sure you’ve heard the same and a quick Google should tell you the facts in your area.

Fact of the matter is bottled water uses a ton of plastic for all those bottles and even if they are recycled, the manufacturing and recycling process hurts the environment more than simply turning on your tap.  You should also consider that if you’re one of the folks paying for their Dasani or Aquafina, it costs as much as the gasoline you’re putting in your car.

If you’re seriously concerned about the safety of your tap water, you can boil your tap water before drinking.  However, we’re not in any soft of wilderness.  Here in Vancouver, for example, water is already filtered and sanitized before it gets to your taps.  You should, however, run it for about 20-30 seconds before drinking as water sitting around your plumbing for too long can take on unwanted minerals.

Sure, I’ll probably still buy a bottle of water (if I still can) on a hot summer day if it’s at an icy cold temperature but let’s all do our best to reduce the amount of plastic waste that the bottled water industry produces.  The environment and your wallet will thank you.