According to industry figures, Britons consume about 1.5 billion litres of water each year from bottles made out of polyethylene terephthalate or PET, a plastic made from crude oil extracts. Despite a reduction of 30 percent in the amount of PET that goes into each bottle, only about 10 percent of the bottles are recycled. Most go into landfill where they take 450 years to break down.
Britons drink an average of 137 litres of water per person per year, the French 141 litres, Mexicans 169 litres and Italians are highest per capita at 184 litres. Now you see why we believe it’s so important to do our bit – and you can too.
Despite many myths and scare mongering tap water in the UK is perfectly safe to drink. There are laws that cover the quality of drinking water (Water Quality Regulations). These are governed by the EU drinking water directive which in turn is based on advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and are reviewed regularly. Drinking water must therefore meet strict minimum standards of health and safety.
In 2006, Richard Ehrlich the wine writer (and wine critic for The Independent) said that he had always favoured tap water over bottled water. After carrying out a blind taste test of tap water versus Evian and Volvic, he nominated tap water as the one he thought was the most expensive, he praised his winning glass of Thames Water as "so pure and neutral it was almost sweet". Urging consumers to follow his lead, he added: "Do you really think that bottled water is purer than the tap water provided by your local water company? Chances are that it is not. The water coming out of your unloved kitchen tap is just as pure, if not purer."
And…
Terry Threlfall, sommelier at the Michelin star restaurant, Chez Bruce in London, picked it as his favourite tasting water.
These are just 2 examples but there are many many more.