Bottled water outsells soda for first time
for the first time ever bottled water is on track to outsell soda.
U.S. sales of bottled water are on pace to top soda for the first time as consumers opt for healthier alternatives, CBS News reports.
According to data from market research firm Beverage Marketing Corp., companies are expected to ship 12.6 million gallons of water in fiscal year 2016; that’s compared to just 12.4 million gallons of carbonated beverages.
The firm also predicts water shipments to reach 13.5 million gallons the following year and soda volumes to drop to 12.2 million gallons, CBS News reports.
According to the New York Post, the contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., which brought renewed attention to plumbing systems throughout the country and potentially outdated materials, has played a major role in bottle water’s booming business.
“Concerns in places like Flint do bring bottled water to people’s attention as a safe and sealed source of drinking water,” Jane Lazgin, a spokeswoman for Nestle Waters North America told the paper.
Bottled water is 2,000 times more expensive than tap on average, says Peter Gleick, president emeritus and chief scientist at the Pacific Institute. And it takes a lot of water to manufacture the bottle — triple the amount that’s inside.
Perhaps the most shocking number is that only 30 percent of all plastic water bottles are recycled.
Canada has one fifth of the world’s freshwater. We’re home to thousands of lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. They provide us with water to drink, to grow our food, to power our homes and to sustain our environment.