For the first time this century, U.S. bottled water guzzling is slowing as people wake to the concept that “being charged for water is like being charged for gravity,” as one tap water promoter puts it. “Instead of being a badge for health and status, bottled water has now become a badge for environmental wastefulness.” According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, our annual bottled water consumption, which had shot up nearly 46 percent between 2002 and 2007 to nearly 30 gallons per person, will grow only 6.7 percent in 2008, the smallest increase this decade.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution to phase out city spending on bottled water. The resolution, though not binding, received strong support from more than 60 mayors across the country.

“The fact is,” says San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, “Our tap water is more highly regulated than what’s in the bottle.” Millions of barrels of oil go into plastic bottle manufacturing, and cities have been spending some $70 million annually on bottle disposal. Too, many bottled water brands come from the same source as public tap water, sold back to citizens at thousands of times the cost.

For more information visit ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org.

Source: Adapted from Grist.org