Is filtered water less expensive than bottled?
What about those bottles of water that so many people have become attached to? First, they’re expensive — sometimes costing more than $1.00 per liter, which translates into 800 to 4800 times the cost of tap water. Second, they’re cumbersome to tote, and you have to go to the store to purchase them. Third, all of those plastic containers must be recycled, or they’ll crowd landfills. And finally, depending on the source of the bottled water, it may be nothing more than filtered municipal water. In fact, contrary to the popular image of remote Alpine meadows and unspoiled streams, bottled-water sources are often near metropolitan areas. Also of interest is the fact that Federal standards for bottled water are no stricter than standards for tap water. That means that federal regulations only require bottlers to test for a handful of the hundreds of known chemical contaminants. In-home drinking water systems, which have also boomed in popularity in recent years, deliver the same benefits
