Infographic illustrating the impact of bottled water consumption on the US and the World
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
As with most plastics, PET is produced from petroleum hydrocarbons, through a reaction between ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. To produce plastic bottles, the PET is first polymerized to create long molecular chains.
Amount of Oil required to produce a bottle…
Fill any bottle 1/4th of the way full with oil and that is about how much oil is used to make and ship that bottle (on average).
Oil used annually:
Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year.
Sales volume of bottled water in the United States from 2010 to 2018
What companies are the biggest contributors?:
Share of U.S. retail sales of bottled water 2017:
What percentage of garbage in landfills is plastic?
Solid Waste Composition, by Weight (Data from 2012 survey)
A map of worst drought areas
Additional facts (5+):
1. On average, Americans spend about $100 per person each year on bottled water.
2. Bottled water's popularity continues to grow, with the average annual consumption increasing by an average 9.5% annually
3. In the U.S., the number one preferred brand of bottled water is Aquafina, which accounts for a 13% share of the market.
4. While about 55% of the bottled water brands draw their products from natural springs, it's estimated that as much as 45% of the water that's available in the supermarket aisles is the same as what you can get from the tap.
5. Despite being plagued by persistent drought conditions, California is actually the nation's leading producer of bottled water. More than two-thirds of the country's bottled water sources are found here.
6. Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year. And that’s not even including the oil used for transportation.
7. In the United States, 24 percent of bottled water sold is either Pepsi’s Aquafina (13 percent of the market) or Coke’s Dasani (11 percent of the market). Both brands are bottled, purified municipal water.
8. Many people drink bottled water because they believe it to be of a higher quality, cleaner and better-tasting, but that’s not necessarily true.
SOURCES:
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/08/bottled-water-california-drought/
Mockup of campaign on laptop
Mockup of full-sized infographic in print
