Think Outside the Bottle

The Hidden Cost of Bottled Water

In June 2008, San José City Council approved a new City Policy limiting the use of public funds for the purchase of single-serve bottled water. Please read on for more information on this issue and visit the Frequently Asked Questions for City Employees.

Conserve Oil

Graphic depicting an oil barrel and plastic water bottles. It takes an estimated 47 million gallons of oil to produce the 38 billion plastic water bottles that Americans use each year.
Eliminating those bottles would be like taking 500,000 tons of CO₂ out of the atmosphere.

Save Fuel

Graphic depicting a truck carring bottled water. Nearly one billion bottles of water are trucked, flown or shipped each week in the U.S. alone. Eliminating the transport of bottled water could remove approximately 4,000 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually.

Reduce Litter

Graphic depicting litter from disposable plastic water bottles. An estimated 86% of plastic water bottles end up in U.S. landfills or as litter in our streets, parks and waterways. Drinking tap water from a reusable container is healthy and economical.

Council policy limits the use of City funds for the purchase of single-serve bottled water. City of San José employees can have a real impact towards saving money and helping the environment by drinking tap water from a reusable container. Learn more about the City's single-serving bottled water policy by visiting the websites below.

Additional Resources

Public documents on the City’s action on single-serve bottled water:

For more information on the environmental impact of single-serve bottled water, visit these websites:

Graphic of a plastic water bottle and text "Is bottled really better?"

Local water companies are subject to rigorous regulation and frequently testing to meet drinking water standards. The bottled water industry is exempt from these regulations.
As much as 40% of bottled water is tap water, packaged and resold for huge profits.
Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than local drinking water. Tap water costs only one-tenth of one cent per gallon.

	Last Modified Date: 2/8/2010

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