How much mineral water is bought: a million bottles per minute

We compulsively devour mineral water. Consumption is increasing, completely unjustifiably, resulting in a huge waste of consumers' wallets and the environment: worldwide, one million bottles of mineral water are purchased every minute. Yet there is no evidence that mineral water offers any greater guarantees in terms of food safety than tap water. Quite the opposite. An in-depth study by the University of Doha, examining samples of both tap water and bottled mineral water, demonstrated that the former found no traces of pollutants in 78 percent of samples. Mineral water, however, contains contaminants, including microplastics and phthalates, which serve to make the packaging more resistant. This finding confirms what has been discovered in Italy regarding the microplastics contained in mineral water.

But the compulsive and reckless consumption of bottled mineral water (Italy is one of the world's leading countries), in addition to negatively impacting family budgets, contributes significantly to environmental pollution: 12 percent of the plastic waste reported in the oceans is bottled mineral water. 

Read also: 

• Why drink tap water?
• How to purify tap water
• What guarantees the drinkability of tap water?
• Why water is so important in our lives
• Water at home: a guide to saving water

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