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Around the world, nearly one billion people lack safe sources of clean drinking water. In Singapore, we are very fortunate to have good quality drinking water right from the tap. Despite that, Singaporeans still consumed a large quantity of single-use bottled water.

In 2009, we estimate the consumption of bottled water in Singapore from the imports minus exports trade data for “Mineral Waters and Aerated Waters Not Flavoured Or Sweetened”, which shows about 109 million litres in quantity and $31 million in value. Singapore imported bottled water from various countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, and Fiji.

10% of Singaporeans using refillable water bottles could save 4 million bottled water a year

For 2007, according to Euromonitor International, Singaporeans spent about $98 million buying single-use bottled water and consumed about 64 million litres of bottled water.

If we assume that the bottled water comes in 1.5 L plastic bottles, we would have used up about 40 million plastic bottles a year. The actual number of plastic bottles would be higher if they come in 0.5 L bottles.

If 10% of Singaporeans switch to using their own refillable water bottles, and stop buying single-use bottled water, we could potentially save about 4 million bottled water from being generated a year.

Environmental impacts of single-use bottled water

It takes energy and resources to process, manufacture, transport, refrigerate and dispose single-use bottled water and its packaging. All these activities generate greenhouse gas emissions and create unnecessary waste, just for the sake of drinking clean water from a bottle, which is already available from our tap. In addition, bottled water from aquifers and springs can affect the groundwater levels and disrupt the natural and human communities staying nearby.

According to We Want Tap, approximately 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year worldwide, which accounts for approximately 2.5% of the world’s oil consumption.

According to Bottled Water Alliance, Australia’s annual use of bottled water generates more than 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the same amount that 13,000 cars generate over the course of a year.

According to FIJI Water, the carbon footprint of its bottled water from production to disposal is:

• 302 grams CO2eq for a 0.5 L bottle
• 573 grams CO2eq for a 1 L bottle
• 801 grams CO2eq for a 1.5 L bottle

Plastic bottles contribute to waste and litter

About 0.7 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated in Singapore in 2008, and the recycling rate was only 9%. Single-use bottled water are usually made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles. If you reduce the purchase of single-use bottled water, you can contribute less to our plastic waste problem.

If the used plastic bottles are not recycled, they end up as waste and sent to the incineration plants for burning, thus contributing to more carbon emissions. So if you are still buying and using bottled water, remember to recycle them using the public recycling bins or through the National Recycling Programme.

Another problem of plastic bottles is that they end up as litter at our waterways when not disposed properly. During the annual International Coastal Cleanup in Singapore in 2009, volunteers picked up 7,389 plastic beverage bottles from the beaches and mangroves over 2 days.

Worldwide in 108 countries, volunteers in the International Coastal Cleanup picked up 883,737 plastic beverage bottles from the waterways, which is number 5 in the top 10 marine debris items collected, and 9% of total debris items.

Bottled water is 1000 times more expensive than tap water

In Singapore, a typical single-use bottled water (0.5 L) costs about $1 on average, whereas the cost of 0.5 L (or 0.0005 m³) of tap water

= Water Tariff + Waterborne Fee + Water Conservation Tax + GST

=  ($1.17/m³ x 0.0005 m³) + ($0.30/m³ x 0.0005 m³) + ($1.17/m³ x 0.0005 m³ x 0.3) + {[($1.17/m³ x 0.0005 m³) + ($1.17/m³ x 0.0005 m³ x 0.3)] x 0.07}

= $0.000964

≈ $0.001

Instead of buying bottled water that costs 1000 times more, you can save money by using tap water for your refillable water bottle.

Tap water in Singapore is safe to drink

According to PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, the tap water in Singapore is well within the World Health Organisation drinking water guidelines, and is suitable for drinking without any further filtration.

Singapore’s water is moderately soft and is safe to drink straight from the tap. To ensure that your water supply is clean and safe, water samples are regularly collected and analysed chemically and bacteriologically at the Water Testing Laboratory. Samples of water at various stages of treatment at all waterworks, raw water from all sources, treated water from all service reservoirs and selected points in the distribution network are collected for daily or periodic analysis. Tests are conducted to ensure that the quality of treated water is within the Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). – PUB

If you still feel that tap water is not clean, you could use a water filter or boil your water, instead of buying bottled water.

Bisphenol A (BPA)

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical commonly used in manufacturing polycarbonate plastic bottles, and has potential health and environmental risks. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

Because BPA is a reproductive, developmental, and systemic toxicant in animal studies and is weakly estrogenic, there are questions about its potential impact particularly on children’s health and the environment. Studies employing standardized toxicity tests used globally for regulatory decision-making indicate that the levels of BPA in humans and the environment are below levels of potential concern for adverse effects.

However, results of some recent studies using novel low-dose approaches and examining different endpoints describe subtle effects in laboratory animals at very low concentrations. Some of these low-dose studies are potentially of concern for the environment because the concentration levels identified with effects are similar to some current environmental levels to which sensitive aquatic organisms may be exposed.

While the potential health risks are still uncertain, some government authorities have taken action to protect sensitive populations like infants. Since June 2009, Canada is acting to ban polycarbonate plastic baby bottles that contain BPA. Since January 2010, the US has provided recommendations on how parents can reduce infant exposures to BPA while additional studies are underway.

If you are buying or using a plastic water bottle, try to get one that is BPA-free and avoid the normal polycarbonate bottles.