This article from The Nation, and others like it, go on at great length about how bottled water is no more pure than tap water. Who knows, they are probably right. And yes, the plastic bottles do clutter up our landfills.
I believe all such screeds miss the point of bottled water. Except in third world countries where tap water is clearly unfit for drinking, people don't buy bottled water because it is safer. In developed countries, people buy bottled water because it is convenient and because it tastes better than tap water.
Much municipal tap water tastes awful. It is so heavily chlorinated it could almost be used to bleach clothes. Running tap water through a charcoal filter makes it taste as good as bottled water. Perhaps we should filter tap water and use refillable containers. However, that is inconvenient.
I am somewhat sympathetic with the viewpoint that bottled water is wasteful. However, the way to get people to stop buying bottled water is to have good tasting municipal tap water. Simply scolding people to stop buying bottled water won't do the job.
