Refill Not Landfill

I came across the Refill Not Landfill campaign by Nalgene on fellow blogger's gezellig-girl's site. I have been following the press on tap vs. bottled water for quite some time. It is refreshing that people are starting to understand the actual costs of drinking imported, bottled water.

I am a proud tap water drinker. My mom's philosophy was, "Why pay for water when there is perfectly good water coming out of the faucet?" Then with college came the must-have Brita. But we never changed the filter so basically we were drink cold tap water. Then in New York City, there was no way in the world I was carrying bottled water from the store up to my apartment. Bottled water is heavy! One of my friends made a good point, "City tap water is the best, there is no way they are going to give bad water to an entire city full of people. Think of the lawsuits!" I never looked back, guzzling down all the tap water I could in both NYC and SF. And, I always drink tap water, unless in a foreign country, at restaurants. Not necessarily for the environment, but because I am cheap, and I drink a lot of water. Now some restaurants in San Francisco have taken bottled water off the menu and are using in-house filtering systems for sparkling and still water.

Many San Franciscian's carry their trusty Nalgene everywhere they go. At my old job, I kept one at my desk, refilling it frequently. That is why I think the Nalgene, Refill not Landfill, campaign is so great. Nalgene water bottle's are easy to wash, carry, and refill. They come in a variety of sizes and are trendy. So why not paste on a great message to the bottle so that your Nalgene drinkers can spread the word? Think Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" yellow bracelet. I have high hopes for this campaign!

My five top reasons for drinking tap water:

1. Tap water quality is well regulated and it is publically available information. There are more regulations governing the quality of tap water than bottled water, thus tap water is likely healthier for you.

2. There is no waste. There is no bottle to dispose of when you are done drinking. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86% of plastic water bottles used in the US end up in the trash. Incinerating used bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals. Buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

3. Tap water is an energy-efficient infrastructure. Transporting bottled water long distances involves the use of a lot of fossil fuels. Think about it. Shipping water from Fiji or just turning on the tap.? Maybe if there is less demand for fossil fuels, your gas prices will go down?

4. It is free. I admit it again, I am cheap. Not so cheap that I don't purchase organic products and support sustainable farming practices though. But seriously, why waste the money?

5. Tastes great! If it doesn't, install a filter on your main faucet. I believe I read somewhere the average cost of installing a filter is 10 cents a gallon.

Find out more about the benefits of drinking tap water at Drinktap.org.