Bottled Water Argument Analysis

The average disposable bottle of water has come under heavy criticism as of late. Many articles such as Nicole Cotroneo’s article in The New York Times, “Movement Against Bottled Water Gains Municipal Adherents,” Annie Gentile’s “Mayors Push Benefits of Cities’ Tap Water” for American City & Country, and “New Study Finds Fault With Some Bottled Waters; Tap Water a Better Bet,” in Environmental Nutrition give their stances on why the disposable water bottles should get the can, or better yet, the recycle bin. In these three articles, the argument against disposable bottled water is posed, as it is believed that water bottles create unnecessary production costs, environmental damage, and threaten safety and health.

According to Cotroneo and Gentile, bottles of water have become increasingly costly for customers to purchase and to produce and distribute by using energies such as fuel. A Suffolk county

From 10 bottled water brands tested by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found “38 pollutants in total, which ran from disinfection products, arsenic, fertilizer residue, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals” (“New Study” 3). “New Study” mentions the government’s requirement on water utilities to notify of any pollutants in the water, which manufacturers of bottled water are not required to do at all. If consumers do not have any idea what’s in their water, then they cannot trust that water like they can tap water. Bottled water has multiple unseen risks associated with just drinking it. These three articles bring up multiple issues created by the mass popularity of bottled water. Many Americans are used to simply getting bottled water and fail commonly to recycle them. One change to a seemingly everyday decision could have a huge impact on our health, environment, and finances at the same time. Bottled water is now viewed such scrutiny that many would not have expected