The environmental backlash surrounding bottled water must be nearing critical mass, because Coke and Pepsi have jumped into action simultaneously. MSNBC reports that both beverage giants have announced plans to step up their efforts to recycle plastic bottles.

 

"Authorities including San Francisco´s city government and the U.K.´s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have recently raised concerns over the amount of plastic and energy wasted on a liquid that can be had from a tap.

 

"A widespread consumer and government attack on bottled water would hit a multibillion-dollar industry and deprive Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé and others of a significant source of profits in a market that has grown rapidly because of consumers´ preference for nonfizzy, healthier drinks."

 

I´ve never given much deep thought to the racket surrounding tap-water-versus-bottled. I appreciate that putting a lot of plastic into the market with little consideration for where it will end up is bad policy on several levels. Meanwhile, the municipal water paranoia theorists haven´t gotten through to me yet; I still firmly believe America´s public H2O is safe to drink, by and large. And yet, I often enjoy the convenience of having a bottle of water handy. So for some time now my routine has been to buy a bottle of Aquafina (or whatever´s available, I´m not picky) every once in a great while, and then refill that container many times over from the tap.

 

So far this sophisticated hydration scheme seems to be working. Like Old Man River, I keep rolling along pretty steadily, all things considered.

 

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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