Rutgers Student Opines on Bottled Water

To the Editor, 

I am a Rutgers student and I am doing a proposal project for one of my classes. We have been discussing topics that we feel very strongly about and what we can do to change this.

I wanted to express my concern about bottled water and how ignorant people really are about wasting resources and money on a liquid that they can get from their own home for free.

While bottled water may be seen as a “necessary convenience” nowadays, there are many alternatives that can save our planet and provide safe drinking water for citizens as well.

I am sure several people did not know that 70% of bottled water companies are not even approved for regulation and are simply selling tap water with added “minerals and salts.”

Another fact that is also important to know is that reusing water bottles is more harmful then drinking tap water due to the chemicals disintegrating off the plastic and into the water, contaminating it.

Bottled water has a staggering number of cons compared to pros, but the major problem with the present-day community is that they do not know them, nor do they do the research to find out. Simply buying a canteen or learning about the risks of bottle water will show consumers just how unnecessary it is to purchase bottled water.

The Rutgers New Brunswick community has slowly but surely been doing just this. Filling stations have been placed in all the major libraries and student centers as well as large recycling machines to make it more convenient for students to be environmentally friendly.

My group has also decided to post fun facts, like the ones I mentioned above, on top of the water stations to remind students of the dangers of bottled water as well as commend them on filling their canteens instead of purchasing a bottle of plastic.

I would urge readers to take a proactive role in helping prevent the plastic ocean we are slowing creating by dumping hundreds of million tons of plastic water bottles into.

Manikaa Nayee
Rutgers New Brunswick