Bottled water: health hazard ?

To maintain iron health, nutritionist Hélène Baribeau recommends drinking between 1.5 and 2 litres of water per day. Should we prefer bottled water or is tap water sufficient? "The French are the third largest consumers of water in the world, with an average of more than 142 litres of natural mineral water consumed in 2006, while the Italians are in second place after the Spaniards, who are the largest consumers of natural mineral water in Europe and the world. The Italians are in second place after the Spaniards, who are the biggest consumers of natural mineral water in Europe and the world", according to data from the Chambre Syndicale des Eaux Minérales.

Reportage: Gold in the bottle

Cristaline in 2006 broadcast an advertising campaign that triggered a controversy that a brand of bottled water had not provoked to date: "Whoever claims that tap water always tastes good should not drink it often! "or "I don't drink the water I use" (see the following advertisements). Numerous criticisms followed and the brand was more or less accused of trying to scare consumers about the quality of the water. Yet water remains the most controlled commodity in France and would be even more so than many bottled waters.

publicité cristaline

We will now analyse the main obstacles linked to the consumption of bottled water, which are cost and environmental impact. The ultimate question will be to determine whether bottled water is really beneficial to His health.

The price

It's much more expensive than the water in our taps. It can be estimated that drinking tap water would cost between 200 and 300 times less than using bottled water (personal estimate, since depending on the brand, region or distributor, the prices of bottled water and water from our taps vary). When we analyze these figures we can't help saying that we have to be rich to pay for this luxury.

Environmental impact

According to a Swiss study "Eco-balance drinking water - mineral water" by the lifecycle analysis expert ESU-Services, mains water is 1,000 times more environmentally friendly than mineral water (whether in small bottles or in large packaging such as bottles)!

There's nothing like a few pictures to better understand:

From source to tap, the life cycle of drinking water

bilan eau minerale

Source: From source to glass, the life cycle of drinking water.

Unbelievable amount of energy and waste

"In 2004, France distributed 11 billion litres of natural mineral water, 6.6 billion for the French market and 4.4 billion for export. Production has almost doubled in the space of ten years. "ANSES informs us.

Fossil and non-renewable energy is used to manufacture and send all these bottles around the world. Large quantities of oil will be used to make plastic bottles, a raw material that will have to be transported to the bottling plant, which will also consume energy to make the containers. The water thus packaged will then be distributed by train, boat or truck, without counting the kilometres. Ecologically speaking, it is completely crazy to find French mineral waters such as Perrier, Evian Badoit and I'm going to the depths of China, Mexico or other faraway countries! In short, the quantity of polluting CO² released into nature by this industry is scandalous!

The lifespan of bottled water

Once bought and drunk, it is no longer of any use and its use is very ephemeral. In 88% of the cases, bottles end their life in the garbage in a few moments and will inflate our piles of household garbage. According to SDWF (Safe Drinking Water Foundation of Canada) very few bottles will end up in the selective sorting for recycling or incineration (release of highly toxic gases such as chlorine for PVC).

Not really biodegradable

It is important to know that a bottle takes about 1000 years to disintegrate, we can't count on nature to do it faster... All too often we will find these bottles in Third World dumps, buried or on the ground at the mercy of the winds and currents that will drag them into the ocean. So at sea, the action of salt and sunlight on the plastic will degrade the bottles more quickly, but let's not rejoice because the tiny plastic particles will be swallowed by many animals. The whole food chain will be affected, from a simple seagull to a poor dolphin whose absorption of this waste will cause death, but also slicks of viscous plastic. "There is growing concern about the mountains of plastic that are accumulating in the environment. So much so that today there is a veritable ocean of plastic" [1].

Now that we have seen that drinking bottled water is neither good for the wallet nor for the health of our planet, are there any other interesting points for drinking bottled water?

Health Impacts
The different forms of plastic.

Bottles of mineral water, wine, vinegar, food cans, food films, bottles, solvents...

Feeding bottles, rigid plastic cups, food containers, bottles (milk, ketchup, water, etc.)

The problem of plastic releases
Categories 3, 6 and 7 should be avoided!

3) PVC is considered to be hazardous to both health and the environment. It is composed of lead, cadmium, phthalates and DEHA.

DEHA (N,N-Diethylhydroxylamine), is a probable carcinogen (laboratory animal study), and may have adverse effects on liver, kidney, spleen and bone formation [4] [5].

6) Polystyrene containing styrene is considered toxic to the brain and nervous system. Adverse effects on the liver, kidneys, stomach and red blood cells may occur [2] [3].

7) The plastics we have just mentioned all contain Bisphenol A (BPA), which is recognized as an endocrine disrupter. Heat or fatty liquids will greatly promote the transfer of BPA contained in the plastic to the container.

For these reasons, not all plastics are harmless and we must be careful not only with mineral water but also with other products/foods packaged with plastic. It is essential to know which plastic you are dealing with and to find all the codes that are usually located on the bottom of bottles, containers, caps, lids etc..

According to the publication of a study by two German researchers in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, male and female hormones (endocrine disruptors) are released into the water by the plastic. Even in small quantities, these hormones could disrupt the reproductive functions of humans. On 20 mineral water packages tested in Germany containing PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and on water in glass containers for comparison. "Twelve of them allowed the researchers to note that in water in plastic bottles, the hormonal activity is twice as high" [3]. 3] The plastics industry quickly made it clear that this study did not prove to be a potential problem for our health.

Our conclusions on bottled water

Even if tap water is very uneven from one territory to another (water in large cities is much more controlled than in rural areas, which also have water that is more contaminated by agriculture), we can see that drinking bottled water damages the wallet, the environment, and "could" be harmful to health.

To know the quality of tap water in your region: Results of the sanitary control of water quality

That said, if you continue to drink bottled water we advise you to change brands regularly. Indeed, some of these waters contain a lot of mineral salts which can, in overdose, cause health problems. Waters such as Volvic, Perrier and Evian, for example, have lower mineral contents and are more suitable for daily consumption.

As studies are usually conducted on animals, it is often not possible to say that a particular product is actually toxic. The cocktail effect is often mentioned for various substances that we ingest in small quantities but repeatedly and continuously. No one can say at the moment what the long-term consequences of all these substances combined may be. We are all, as far as we are concerned, the guinea pigs of this industrial and chemical era, and we will see in a few decades' time the consequences in terms of cancers and diseases. Once again, in view of the doubts, we are once again advising caution, the precautionary principle.

[4]. Canadian government website on chemical substances (www.chemicalsubstanceschimiques.gc.ca)

Technical sheet - From plastic to the bottle and plastic from bottles (CEREMAP: Centre d'Etudes sur le Recyclage des Matières plastiques).

4 Comments

Elisa 2018-07-19 Reply
Bonjour, j'ai envie de remplacer ma carafe filtrante, que me conseillez vous ?
- Biopur habitat 2018-07-19 Reply
  Bonjour, nous proposons 2 filtres qui vous permettrons définitivement d'oublier vos bouteilles plastiques et d'éviter les risques des carafes filtrantes. Vous trouverez plus de détails et d'explications sur les fiches produits. N'hésitez pas à vous inscrire pour accéder à votre messagerie Biopur habitat et obtenir plus de réponse personnalisées à vos questions.
  Cordialement
Joel 2016-10-12 Reply
Article intéressant, j'ai pris le temps de regarder les vidéos et c'est assez instructif.
A quelle fréquence comptez vous publier des articles ?
- Biopur habitat 2016-10-12 Reply
  Bonjour et merci pour votre intervention, nous allons essayer de publier 2 articles par mois au moins.
  N’hésitez pas à vous enregistrer pour recevoir la newsletter.
  Cordialement