Comments on: My “Bottled Water” http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/ Interesting bits of information and editorial, evolving online since 1995. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:14:47 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: dannyman http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-74177 dannyman Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:39:02 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-74177 Jessi, If they want to put municipal tap water in bottles and sell that as a convenience, I'm there! Of course, I have plenty of bottles already. :) -danny Jessi,

If they want to put municipal tap water in bottles and sell that as a convenience, I’m there! Of course, I have plenty of bottles already. :)

-danny

]]> By: Jessi http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-74175 Jessi Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:19:43 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-74175 Hilarious that aquafina water shows up in your ad space at the top of the post, given their <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/01/1435240" rel="nofollow">recent attention in the news!</a> Hilarious that aquafina water shows up in your ad space at the top of the post, given their recent attention in the news!

]]> By: dannyman http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73724 dannyman Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:05:27 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73724 Damn. I heard on the radio on Saturday that there are bacteria in my gut helping digest my food! Worrying about bacteria is overrated, and yeah, those bottles have a multi-year shelf life in the first place. I an I just aint gonna worry. -danny Damn. I heard on the radio on Saturday that there are bacteria in my gut helping digest my food!

Worrying about bacteria is overrated, and yeah, those bottles have a multi-year shelf life in the first place. I an I just aint gonna worry.

-danny

]]> By: Ben http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73719 Ben Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:54:04 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73719 I found it kind of funny when I was in northern Germany that you could buy 1L bottled water for 0,30 Euro, of which 0,25 was the bottle deposit. Our offices have pseudo water coolers - it's got the same light-blue plastic jug on top, but the jug is filled from a filter system on the back of the cooler - basically the same as one of those multiple-cylinder whole-house filter systems. No one's had any issues on it, and I hear we saved a good chunk, given that there are about 15-20 coolers in our building that each went through a bottle every few days. I dunno about Bay Area water, but I just got my local water quality report - residual chlorine averaged 0.37 ppm in '06, with a range from 0.36-0.38 ppm. @berto - I have a hard time buying the chemical breakdown argument if Coke can put something with pH ~2.5 in a bottle for up to a year. The debunkers over at Snopes claims the breakdown argument is urban legend as well (http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp). They do concede the bacteria issue though, but that's more a function of good sanitation - even if you use/re-use a good Nalgene bottle, you can still get all those fun bugs growing out if you don't clean it right. I found it kind of funny when I was in northern Germany that you could buy 1L bottled water for 0,30 Euro, of which 0,25 was the bottle deposit.

Our offices have pseudo water coolers – it’s got the same light-blue plastic jug on top, but the jug is filled from a filter system on the back of the cooler – basically the same as one of those multiple-cylinder whole-house filter systems. No one’s had any issues on it, and I hear we saved a good chunk, given that there are about 15-20 coolers in our building that each went through a bottle every few days.

I dunno about Bay Area water, but I just got my local water quality report – residual chlorine averaged 0.37 ppm in ‘06, with a range from 0.36-0.38 ppm.

@berto – I have a hard time buying the chemical breakdown argument if Coke can put something with pH ~2.5 in a bottle for up to a year. The debunkers over at Snopes claims the breakdown argument is urban legend as well (http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp). They do concede the bacteria issue though, but that’s more a function of good sanitation – even if you use/re-use a good Nalgene bottle, you can still get all those fun bugs growing out if you don’t clean it right.

]]> By: Erik http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73717 Erik Tue, 26 Jun 2007 02:01:41 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73717 I figure the chemical contamination from 'low-grade' plastic bottles is probably far less harmful than the cocktail of other pollutants were are exposed to in our modern-day urban life, although this is just a guess. In any case I'm not worrying about drinking tap water, as far as I've always heard the quality is very good; there are perhaps more checks on tap water than bottled water. I figure the chemical contamination from ‘low-grade’ plastic bottles is probably far less harmful than the cocktail of other pollutants were are exposed to in our modern-day urban life, although this is just a guess. In any case I’m not worrying about drinking tap water, as far as I’ve always heard the quality is very good; there are perhaps more checks on tap water than bottled water.

]]> By: dannyman http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73710 dannyman Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:18:24 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73710 Alright kids, I'll score some "tougher" bottles next time I have a good opportunity. Killjoys. Berto, the ban only applies to city departments. I agree it is silly and often wasteful to purchase bottled water. If people simply moved to bottled beverages other than water, the waste problem stays, too. Maybe they should just require all "bottled water" to be sold in really high-quality reusable bottles, and levy an appropriate deposit on the cost of the bottle. Say, $1.50 or so for a really nice bottle. It is, after all, IMHO, the bottle, that is the most valuable component. -danny Alright kids, I’ll score some “tougher” bottles next time I have a good opportunity. Killjoys.

Berto, the ban only applies to city departments. I agree it is silly and often wasteful to purchase bottled water. If people simply moved to bottled beverages other than water, the waste problem stays, too.

Maybe they should just require all “bottled water” to be sold in really high-quality reusable bottles, and levy an appropriate deposit on the cost of the bottle. Say, $1.50 or so for a really nice bottle. It is, after all, IMHO, the bottle, that is the most valuable component.

-danny

]]> By: -berto http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73709 -berto Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:47:07 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73709 Dannyman, not only is there a bacterial risk from introducing microbes into the reused containers, but also a chemical risk. Low quality, mass produced plastic bottles can react with the chlorine in tap water and will break down into the water you drink. Even prolonged exposure to sunlight will cause a sealed bottle to react with the water inside. High quality plastic bottles that are designed to be reused are available for about $5-$10, and some are even "hardened" against the acidic effects of fruit juice and soda. Truth is, sooner or later some of the plastic will break down into your drink, regardless of the plastic used, but getting a bottle that can reused and rewashed does make sense for a good chunk of the population, especially if they have access to a filtered water source, and can clean the bottle on a regular basis. On a side note, it would be interesting to see if the SF ban on bottled water would lead to an increase of consumption of fruit juice or soda. If that is the case, one set of problems (litter, environmental/economic costs) could be traded for another (increased sugar consumption and subsequent health effects, dehydration when working or doing recreational sports, etc). As usual, nothing in the world is cut and dry. Dannyman, not only is there a bacterial risk from introducing microbes into the reused containers, but also a chemical risk. Low quality, mass produced plastic bottles can react with the chlorine in tap water and will break down into the water you drink. Even prolonged exposure to sunlight will cause a sealed bottle to react with the water inside. High quality plastic bottles that are designed to be reused are available for about $5-$10, and some are even “hardened” against the acidic effects of fruit juice and soda. Truth is, sooner or later some of the plastic will break down into your drink, regardless of the plastic used, but getting a bottle that can reused and rewashed does make sense for a good chunk of the population, especially if they have access to a filtered water source, and can clean the bottle on a regular basis.

On a side note, it would be interesting to see if the SF ban on bottled water would lead to an increase of consumption of fruit juice or soda. If that is the case, one set of problems (litter, environmental/economic costs) could be traded for another (increased sugar consumption and subsequent health effects, dehydration when working or doing recreational sports, etc). As usual, nothing in the world is cut and dry.

]]> By: dannyman http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73658 dannyman Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:31:00 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73658 Keith makes a good point, I reckon, about bacteria-resistant bottles. I suppose for now this is acceptable target-practice for my immune system, but when I have kids maybe I want fancier. Sam-- The urban water supplies are fine, but that "last mile" to the tap, especially the on-site plumbing, can get scuzzy. As far as I can gather, the best practice is to let it run a wee bit to get the crap out before you drink--I had the same yellow thing in my first Mountain View apartment, but if I let it run a bit the water was just fine. Besides, at work you have a reverse-osmosis dispenser! :p -d Keith makes a good point, I reckon, about bacteria-resistant bottles. I suppose for now this is acceptable target-practice for my immune system, but when I have kids maybe I want fancier.

Sam– The urban water supplies are fine, but that “last mile” to the tap, especially the on-site plumbing, can get scuzzy. As far as I can gather, the best practice is to let it run a wee bit to get the crap out before you drink–I had the same yellow thing in my first Mountain View apartment, but if I let it run a bit the water was just fine. Besides, at work you have a reverse-osmosis dispenser! :p

-d

]]> By: sam http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73652 sam Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:03:31 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73652 I stopped drinking the water at work years ago when it came out of the tap smelling funny and having a yellow tint on more than one occaision. Could just be sub-standard plumbing, but yuck. Also after going through the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 I'm always wary of unfiltered water sources. I do think it's funny to look at some of the sources of bottled water. And we all know what Evian spells backwards :-) I stopped drinking the water at work years ago when it came out of the tap smelling funny and having a yellow tint on more than one occaision. Could just be sub-standard plumbing, but yuck. Also after going through the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 I’m always wary of unfiltered water sources.

I do think it’s funny to look at some of the sources of bottled water. And we all know what Evian spells backwards :-)

]]> By: Keith http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73648 Keith Sat, 23 Jun 2007 11:51:07 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73648 (Dinah hit my keyboard as I was typing and caused premature posting...) All the bottles you have in the picture probably are only designed for single time use and aren't designed to be bacterial resistant or really washable. If you want something infinitely reusable (and dishwasher safe) you can get something at pretty much any store. A few years ago Sarah and I bought some tupperware re-usables and use those ALL the time. (Dinah hit my keyboard as I was typing and caused premature posting…)

All the bottles you have in the picture probably are only designed for single time use and aren’t designed to be bacterial resistant or really washable.

If you want something infinitely reusable (and dishwasher safe) you can get something at pretty much any store. A few years ago Sarah and I bought some tupperware re-usables and use those ALL the time.

]]> By: Keith http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73647 Keith Sat, 23 Jun 2007 11:49:11 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73647 I'm all for reusing the plastic bottles, but I wouldn't do it for years at a time. There was a study a year or two ago that talked about the bateria buildup and bottles not designed or designated to be reusable. All the bottles you have in the picture prob1 I’m all for reusing the plastic bottles, but I wouldn’t do it for years at a time. There was a study a year or two ago that talked about the bateria buildup and bottles not designed or designated to be reusable. All the bottles you have in the picture prob1

]]> By: Chris Sims http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/comment-page-1/#comment-73646 Chris Sims Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:36:04 +0000 http://dannyman.toldme.com/2007/06/23/my-bottled-water/#comment-73646 Having spent some time in India recently, I get the bottles of water at dinner. Everywhere, even in the big cities, if you didn't have a very fancy and well-maintained filter system, your faucets were delivering hot and cold running poison. Having spent some time in India recently, I get the bottles of water at dinner. Everywhere, even in the big cities, if you didn’t have a very fancy and well-maintained filter system, your faucets were delivering hot and cold running poison.

]]>