Water Bottled in Glass has Nothing to Hide
As we reported a couple of weeks ago, members of the European Parliament have started a campaign to reduce the use of plastic water bottles permanently. According to estimates from Dutch MEP Judith Merkies, the EU disposes of more than 32,000 plastic water bottles per week – or more than 1.5 million each year. She notes that an analysis by the European Parliament’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) has shown that, “…out of all the possible ways of providing drinking water, the use of plastic water bottles is the least environmentally friendly.”
One of the most environmentally friendly ways to deliver bottled water is in glass containers – naturally! The glass industry uses a closed-loop recycling system which was established over 35 years ago and provides significant CO2-emission reductions. Unlike plastics, glass can also be recycled over and over again without losing its properties. Glass recycling is already very common in Europe – 68% of all glass packaging is recycled in the region leading to reduced emissions for all types of greenhouse gases.
Water bottled in glass also preserves the taste of the water and the nutritional elements that it contains. At the first-ever water-tasting held in the European Parliament during 2011, MEPs who thought ‘water is just water’ were quickly convinced that is not the case by leading sommelier, Andreas Larsson. See the results of this event in the following video: http://www.feve.org/Water2011/quicktime.html
As he explained: “Mineral waters are a ‘terroir’ product, just like wine. The nature of the source, the mineral composition and the pH level all influence the taste of the water.” Larsson also recommends glass packaging for water: “Only glass protects the purity and delicacy of mineral waters. Water is so clean that every other packaging would affect the taste.”
The clear, healthy and environmentally responsible solution to the EU’s growing mountain of plastic bottles is already available – water bottled in glass! Let’s hope the EU, like many consumers in Europe, makes the switch soon!
Tags: bpa, Environment, packaging, recycling, Water, water bottles
July 2nd, 2012 at 10:01 pm
I always thought beverages tastes better out of glass. From water, beer, and fruit drinks etc. One time I experimented with my Tupperware containers to see how the water would taste after I left some water in it overnight. It tasted absolutely horrible plastic residue taste which obviously leached into the water. Also I found that many recipes I now use call for acidic ingredients which react to plastic. Better reason now to change all my containers over to glass.
November 13th, 2012 at 3:16 am
some mineral water manufacturers actually use tap water and just purifies it.
March 22nd, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Mineral water is water that has either naturally or artificially added minerals. Many forms of mineral water are also carbonated, which may also be the result of natural processes. Unlike sparkling water, however, mineral water does not have to be carbonated, and is defined by its having over 250 parts per million (ppm) of a mineral substance…