And then there are the bottles themselves. The plastic that is used is polyethyleneglycolterephthalate (PET). There are some real issues here with production and disposal. Historically, the raw materials, namely ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, are derived from fossil fuels, a waste of a valuable resource. And while PET can be recycled, the overall recycling rate is low, with the majority of bottles being discarded improperly and taking up space in landfill.

Anyone concerned with the quality of tap water can easily avail themselves of a variety of filters that will produce water comparable to the bottled variety, at a fraction of the cost. Whether this has an impact on health is debatable, but removal of traces of chlorine can improve the taste. … DT:  Back in my lab days we were warned not to drink distilled water.