Beyond where its use is necessary (eg when there are problems with mains supply) I really wish we could get over our love affair with bottled water.

Millions of gallons of this stuff are being driven all over Europe every day, adding to carbon emissions, transport congestion, waste, litter and unnecessary energy consumption. The PET plastic that is used to make the bottles also takes up enormous capacity in our recycling capacity, when it actually finds its way into our recycling system.

This is really bizarre to me. In most cases, the water is these bottles in the same water that comes out of our taps, except that its not as fresh as the water in out taps, because it generally sits in a vat or a bottle for weeks on end before it is consumed.

We really try to avoid using bottled water in our house. We have a UV filter on our well supply and we know our water is safe. We keep a few bottles of tap water in the fridge at all times and take these with us when we go out somewhere.

Obviously, not everyone is this lucky, but a lot of us are, and cutting down on our use of bottled water is an excellent way to contribute to a more sustainable future.

Click here for an interesting article on the subject.