Green Water
SOLD
thousand tons
2,675
RECYCLED
thousand tons
778.5
Recycling rate
29.1%
WASTED
thousand tons
1,896.5
Sources: Data derived from the American Plastics Council and the American Chemistry Council (2010)
Inefficient Water Transport
It takes about 1,100 to 2,000 times as much energy to produce
and transport the average bottle of water to Los Angeles as to
produce the same amount of tap water.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2010, March 1). Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics.
That is 14.3 Million Barrels
of Crude Oil
Average Adult Male Needs 3
Litters of Water a Day
43.6 Billion Containers
Wasted Every Year
3 Litters is 101 oz./ 16.9
Which Equals 6 Bottles a
Day
If a Person Got All Their
Water from Bottles its 2181
Bottles a Year
At this Rate Every Person
Would Be Consuming
Almost a Quarter Barrel of
Oil Just on Bottles of Water
In Wasted Oil For Water Bottles That’s Enough Gasoline
to Drive All the Way to Boston
In a 2005 Honda Civic
Water Bottles as % of Total Water Consumption and % Barrel
of Crude Oil
0.7
0.7
0.6
Barrel of Crude Oil
0.468
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.234
0.2
0.1
0
One Third
Two Thirds
All
Water Bottles as % of Total Water Consumption
If all undergrad’s drank this many water bottles…
One Third: 2,340 Barrels of Oil
Two Thirds: 4,680 Barrels of Oil
All: 7,000 Barrels of Oil
James Water Bottle Consumption
Last Year
• Bought on Average Two
Bottles of Water on a School
Day
• At an Average Price of $1.84
that is $552
This Year
• This Semester I’ve cut my
consumption in Half
• Estimated Savings of $276
Cost of Daily Water Bottle
Purchases
$600.00
$500.00
$552.00
$400.00
$300.00
$276.00
$200.00
$100.00
$No Bottles
One Bottle a day
Two Bottles a Day
Joe’s Water Consumption
Last Year
• Last year I bought 2/3’s of
my water from water
bottles. That’s 28 bottles a
week
• That’s 26 cases or $260
This Year
• Bought a Brita Filter
• Refillable Water Bottle
• The Brita+Replacement
Filters for the year: $50
The Cost of Buying Water Bottles
$400.00
$350.00
$300.00
$250.00
$200.00
$365
$150.00
$260
$182
$100.00
$122
$50.00
$0.00
33% Water Bottles
50% Water Bottles
66% Water Bottles
100% Water Bottles
Cost of a Brita Filter
Savings from Using a Brita Filter
350
$315
300
$210
250
200
$132
150
$72
100
50
0
33% Water Bottles
50% Water Bottles
66% Water Bottles
100% Water Bottles
Campus Solutions
• We already have water bottle filling
stations
– Awesome!
• But we need more! One in the lobby
of every hall
• Giving out free water bottles at
sporting events
Nationwide Solutions
• Providing subsides to those who recycle
plastics
• Instead of just trash cans, include a
recycling bin
• Improve tap water and provide education
on where it is safe to drink from the tap
(2,000 more efficient than bottles)
Big Picture
• As great as recycling is the reality is this
boils down to a simple economic issue
• Either way, by case or individually, buying
water bottles is so much more expensive
than using tap and Brita water
• Students can save hundreds by investing
in a Brita Filter and reusable water bottle