What are the environmental impacts of producing still spring water?
The best figures we could open cover the bottle, not the spring. An NIH sustainability page gives roughly 0.04 to 0.06 kg CO2-equivalent for making the plastic of a 500 mL PET bottle and 0.03 to 0.05 kg for forming it, with transport, chilling and disposal adding more. It also says only 29.1% of US PET bottles were recycled in 2018.
Free download
Juice, Soda and Water Storage Chart (PDF): How long juice, soda, coconut water and bottled water last, opened and unopened. 19 rows, each with its source.
Thank you
Your chart is ready
We use your email only for this download.Also free:
Home Bar Storage Chart (PDF)Milk and Dairy Storage Chart (PDF)Coffee, Tea and Hot Drinks Storage Chart (PDF)Drink Strength, Calories and Units Cheat Sheet (PDF)Want the full pack? About 10 printable sheets: a larger chart for each drink type, a “has it gone off?” checklist, date labels, a party planner and an inventory sheet.
In this article
What are the environmental impacts of bottled spring water?
Most measured impact comes from the plastic bottle and moving it. The NIH NEMS page on PET water bottles gives per-500 mL figures from published life-cycle work.
| Stage | CO2-equivalent per 500 mL bottle |
|---|---|
| Material production (PET resin) | about 0.038 to 0.063 kg |
| Bottle fabrication | about 0.034 to 0.046 kg |
| Bottling | about 0.0002 kg |
Our calculation: those three stages add up to roughly 0.07 to 0.11 kg per bottle, before transport, chilling and disposal.
How much does transport matter?
The page says transport by truck, rail or ship varies greatly and can be a major source of impact when distances between the water source, factory and disposal sites are large. That is why a bottle shipped across a continent has a larger footprint than a local one.
What about chilling and disposal?
- Chilling: about 0.0248 kg CO2-equivalent per liter.
- Recycling: recovers energy and avoids about 0.0114 kg per bottle.
- Incineration: about 0.0211 kg per bottle and can release significant greenhouse gases.
- Landfill: about 0.0009 kg per bottle; the page says PET bottles can take up to 500 years to degrade.
It reports that 29.1% of US PET bottles were recycled in 2018, and over 69% of plastic container and packaging waste was discarded, mostly to landfill. Discarded bottles can reach waterways as plastic pollution and microplastics.
What about the spring itself?
We found no official figure on how much water a given spring can lose or on local aquifer effects, so we do not claim any. The US FDA only requires that spring water is collected at the spring or a bore hole tapping the same formation.
How can you reduce the impact?
- Choose tap water or a refill bottle at home.
- Buy local brands where available.
- Recycle every bottle you do buy.
People also ask
What is the carbon footprint of a bottle of spring water?
The NIH page gives about 0.07 to 0.11 kg CO2-equivalent for making and filling a 500 mL PET bottle (our calculation), before transport and disposal.
Is bottled spring water recycled?
The NIH page, citing EPA data, says 29.1% of US PET bottles were recycled in 2018.
Is tap water better for the environment than bottled water?
We found no official comparison on the page we opened, but it shows large bottle, transport and disposal impacts that tap water avoids.
Sources
About · How we verify this · Editorial policy · Corrections
What would help you most next?
One tap. Anonymous. It helps us decide what to build.
Thank you. The free charts above are yours to keep.
