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- Thread starter wyliepoon
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Long Island Mike
Senior Member
Would a deposit on water bottles work?
Everyone: I read this topic and I want to mention that NYS is considering expanding the State's deposit law to include containers that no one thought about or did not exist in the mid 80s when NYS passed its 5 cent deposit law.
I personally have NOT bought into the bottled water craze-I use and refill a Brita pitcher with local LI tap water. LI has an aquifier below it-especially in the Pine Barrens of eastern Suffolk County-that is a prime source of millions of gallons of pure drinking water. With this aquifier LI is not susceptible to a drought the way other places can-like North Georgia and North Alabama nowadays as prime examples.
I remember Climatologist Heidi Cullen on the Weather Channel mention recently that bottled water as a whole is bad for the environment due to using plastic containers-a large percentage of these are NOT recycled,the use of trucks-burning fossil fuels-to deliver this water and the fact that this water is considered so plain that nutrients and other additives like Flouride are not present in this water. I remember Andy Rooney talk about the bottled water craze on the CBS show "60 Minutes" earlier this year about how he feels that tap water-especially in NYC which has good tap water-is so much better-and cheaper to him. He mentioned that young women under 30 were the most likely to be consumers of bottled water-and that the percentage of women who drank bottled water as a whole was much more then men.
In closing can Toronto or Ontario institute a deposit on water bottles? It makes more sense then a tax-to encourage returning or recycling just like on bottles and cans. That's my two cents here-LI MIKE
Everyone: I read this topic and I want to mention that NYS is considering expanding the State's deposit law to include containers that no one thought about or did not exist in the mid 80s when NYS passed its 5 cent deposit law.
I personally have NOT bought into the bottled water craze-I use and refill a Brita pitcher with local LI tap water. LI has an aquifier below it-especially in the Pine Barrens of eastern Suffolk County-that is a prime source of millions of gallons of pure drinking water. With this aquifier LI is not susceptible to a drought the way other places can-like North Georgia and North Alabama nowadays as prime examples.
I remember Climatologist Heidi Cullen on the Weather Channel mention recently that bottled water as a whole is bad for the environment due to using plastic containers-a large percentage of these are NOT recycled,the use of trucks-burning fossil fuels-to deliver this water and the fact that this water is considered so plain that nutrients and other additives like Flouride are not present in this water. I remember Andy Rooney talk about the bottled water craze on the CBS show "60 Minutes" earlier this year about how he feels that tap water-especially in NYC which has good tap water-is so much better-and cheaper to him. He mentioned that young women under 30 were the most likely to be consumers of bottled water-and that the percentage of women who drank bottled water as a whole was much more then men.
In closing can Toronto or Ontario institute a deposit on water bottles? It makes more sense then a tax-to encourage returning or recycling just like on bottles and cans. That's my two cents here-LI MIKE
H
Hydrogen
Guest
Purchasers of bottled water seem to be split into two broad categories: those who buy it because it is convenient at a moment when they otherwise can't access sources of tap water, and those people who view bottled spring water as a safe and natural alternative to what they perceive as the dangers of tap water.
Even with all the articles about the scam of bottled water and its supposed safety and health advantages, there are still many people who swear to this belief.
Even with all the articles about the scam of bottled water and its supposed safety and health advantages, there are still many people who swear to this belief.
Dan416
Senior Member
Bottled water is so wasteful it's a wonder that we allow this travesty to happen. Just another quirk of being human I guess. If it's free, it can't possibly be good, so we have to buy it and needlessly waste resources to get it.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
To be fair to people, a lot of it is just an availability thing. People don't always have access to a cup and tap, and asking at a fast food place for the free water usually gets a glare and a Dixie cup. Sometimes people are just thirsty and there's no other way to get water.
yin_yang
Active Member
so this sounds like it would apply to tap water sold in stores? seems kind of bullshit...although buying it also is.
rpgr
Active Member
I admit to buying bottled water fairly often. Going to class, on the road...etc.
I do try and reuse those water bottles as much as possible (usually till they get stinky) and recycle the bottles but more often than I'd like it to happen, I lose the bottles during transportation. They fall out of my bag, I forget them, etc.
I'd say I lose about 1 bottle every two weeks. If I had to buy an empty container at a dollar+ and had to find a dollar store to do it then find a water fountain instead of running to just about anywhere and buying a case for $3.00, well it's just not good sense for when I need water.
I mean, it isn't just slightly inconvient, it is really inconvient. I remember back when bottled water was never there before, I'd just end up buying coke. In any case, bottled water is healthier than coke.
I do try and reuse those water bottles as much as possible (usually till they get stinky) and recycle the bottles but more often than I'd like it to happen, I lose the bottles during transportation. They fall out of my bag, I forget them, etc.
I'd say I lose about 1 bottle every two weeks. If I had to buy an empty container at a dollar+ and had to find a dollar store to do it then find a water fountain instead of running to just about anywhere and buying a case for $3.00, well it's just not good sense for when I need water.
I mean, it isn't just slightly inconvient, it is really inconvient. I remember back when bottled water was never there before, I'd just end up buying coke. In any case, bottled water is healthier than coke.
adma
Superstar
Well, if you want something that isn't a superfluous purchase like bottled water, *tea* (to say nothing of various juices) is healthier than Coke.
As for water; well, you can always drink straight out of the fountain, or cup a hand under a tap somewhere, there's always alternatives. And to me, they're strangely "purer" than water out of a plastic bottle, which I've always found rather bland and stale. I just never twigged to bottled water; it's insipid...
As for water; well, you can always drink straight out of the fountain, or cup a hand under a tap somewhere, there's always alternatives. And to me, they're strangely "purer" than water out of a plastic bottle, which I've always found rather bland and stale. I just never twigged to bottled water; it's insipid...
egotrippin
Senior Member
Bottled water is ridiculous, and anyone who buys it thinking it's better than tap water is for you, is an idiot. I say tax it to death, most people who buy it religiously are idiotic enough to continue buying it anyway. If only the government could find more ways to essentially tax people's idiocy, the city would be rich.
To people who say things like "eww Toronto water is dirty" (a common 905er misconception) I read, and still have, an article on how Toronto's tap water is tops in the nation. That said, I suppose I can understand buying a bottle in a situation where obtaining water elsewhere would be very inconvenient; however I can count the times on my hand that I've resorted to buying a bottle, and I drink water a lot.
To people who say things like "eww Toronto water is dirty" (a common 905er misconception) I read, and still have, an article on how Toronto's tap water is tops in the nation. That said, I suppose I can understand buying a bottle in a situation where obtaining water elsewhere would be very inconvenient; however I can count the times on my hand that I've resorted to buying a bottle, and I drink water a lot.
junctionist
Senior Member
I don't think that bottled water is much safer than the city treated water, but there's the risk that the building you might be in has old piping. There are buildings with old lead piping. At least you can recycle those bottles. Yet so many products are sold with plastic packaging and wrap which isn't recycled. It's often the case with electronics.
rbt
Senior Member
Most of the plastics used in bottles leach into the liquid. When drinking bottled water you're also drinking some of the plastic that held it. You're better off with the old lead pipes (if they are actually old pipes) if the water source is well used.
adma
Superstar
Better a lead pipe than the cottage-country situation of a decomposing raccoon in the water well...
unimaginative2
Senior Member
I have heard that dirty Toronto tapwater thing from 905ers too! It's pretty hilarious since 905 water comes from the exact same place... In the case of York Region, they actually get their water from the City of Toronto.