Press Release

Is bottled water past its sell-by date?

24 January 2008

The reasons for buying bottled water are drying up, says Which? – it’s expensive, bad for the environment and many people think it doesn’t taste that different from tap water.

In a recent Which? survey*, half the respondents said they can’t taste the difference between bottled and tap water. In fact, 18% actually prefer the flavour of tap water.

But there’s no contest when it comes to the cost of water – at 0.22p a litre**, tap is 141 times cheaper than the bestselling mineral water, Evian, which costs 31p a litre in a supermarket but is likely to cost more if bought on the high street.

Britons splashed out £1.68bn on 2.275bn litres of bottled water in 2006*** but there are signs that the UK public’s thirst for bottled is drying up. Nearly a quarter of the people Which? surveyed said they are drinking less bottled water than a year ago and according to one market research agency,**** sales of bottled water dropped by 9% last year.

84 per cent of people surveyed by Which? believe tap water is better for the environment than bottled. The industry’s carbon footprint is significant: the production process wastes an estimated two gallons of water for every gallon purified to put into a bottle; some bottled waters come from as far away as New Zealand, accumulating thousands of unnecessary “water miles”; and most plastic water bottles go to landfill where they can take up to 450 years to decompose.

Which? advocates the idea of installing free tap water ‘refilling stations’ (similar to vending machines) in public spaces. There are plans***** to pilot 10 of these stations around London. If the idea spreads across the UK it could have a real impact on water-drinking habits.

Neil Fowler, Editor, Which?, says:

"There are plenty of good reasons for choosing tap water. You can save money, it’s better for the environment and it can taste just as good - if not better. The UK has some of the safest and best quality drinking water in the world. It’s time we started appreciating it."

Notes to editors

* 3,039 members of the Which? online panel were surveyed in April and May 2008 about their water-drinking habits.

** Average cost of tap water from OFWAT ‘Your water and sewerage bill 2008-2009’ – based on average bills across the UK.

*** Mintel, June 2007.

**** Retail analysts TNS, April 2008.

***** Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK, providing up to date, impartial, expert information on thousands of products and services to help make individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives. To find out more visit www.which.co.uk

Thames Water, Waste Watch and the Greater London Authority recently announced these plans.