Over the last ten years, bottled water sales have been steadily growing at an average rate of 7 – 8% each year. The amount of bottled water consumed globally has doubled in the period from 1997 to 2005.

Approximately 200 billion bottles of water are consumed worldwide each year. The US market is the biggest by far, accounting for a quarter of global sales.

Recently, there has been quite a backlash against bottled water. The main are of concern is the environmental impact of the bottles themselves. These are manufactured from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Although this is a material which can be recycled, the actual number of bottles which are recycled is estimated to be less than a quarter of the total.

The manufacturing process, shipping and end of life disposal of the bottles also requires energy, another source of concern for environmentalists. The carbon emissions generated by the production and delivery of one litre of bottled water are 5,000 times higher than those produced for the delivery of a litre of ordinary tap water.

In spite of the marketing of bottled water as healthy, there is no evidence to support the assertion that bottled water is, in developed countries, any better for your health than ordinary tap water. In fact, some bottled waters have been found to contain uranium and estrogenic chemicals. Most bottled waters contain sodium – which is not good for your blood pressure.

In terms of taste there is little firm evidence that bottled water is any better than tap water. In a UK blind taste test, London tap water came in third place out of a selection of 24 different varieties of water. In the USA, a Penn and Teller episode screened in 2007 (which may have been more entertaining than scientific – but is still worthy of a mention) demonstrated that diners could not tell the difference between bottled water and water from a garden hose.

The variation in cost between bottled and tap water will vary from brand to brand. However, as a rule, bottled water will cost several hundred times more per litre than ordinary tap water.

Whatever way you look at it, whether from a health, taste, cost or environmental stance, there really isn’t much to recommend the use of bottled water. If you really find the taste of the water that comes out of your tap at home to be unsatisfactory, then you could always use some type of home filtration system.

Of course, home filtration systems are great for when you’re at home – but if you like to carry water with you when you’re out and about then you could use and reuse a bottle which you fill at home, or the office, before you leave. Again, Brita Water are a good example having combined with international designer Orla Kiely to produce the Wottle – which claims to be the world’s first designer reusable bottle and is manufactured from 100% recycled material. Or you could do your own recycling and use an old Coke bottle.

Save money using a Brita jug filter – and you can also economise by getting Brita replacement filters online too.