Bottled Water or Tap Water?

Last year, bottled water overtook carbonated drinks as the world’s best-selling soft drink, largely due to public concern about added sugar and additives prompting consumers increasingly to ditch fizzy-pop.

There are many mixed views about drinking water from plastic bottles. There always seem to be claims going around about harmful chemicals in the plastic packaging used for some food and drink. Then there is the cost issue; bottled water costs so much more than tap, without taking into consideration the manufacturing costs.  And does bottled water taste preferable to tap?

“The bottled water industry is very largely a scam, and a very expensive one at that, in terms of both money and extravagant carbon footprint,” says Professor Paul Younger of Glasgow University

It is estimated that Britons spend about £1.5 billion on bottled water each year. Experts say that we drink 33 litres of bottled water annually, whether ordinary mineral, fizzy, or “purified’ tap water”.

So how do you like your water?  Running from the tap, or bought in a bottle? Do you drink tap water from a refillable bottle or would you buy bottled when it comes to water on the go? Do you prefer carbonated or still water?