I drink tap
Plastic bottles destroy our planet
Say NO to bottled water!
It is related from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Do not withhold excess water, preventing others from pasturing from it." (Bukhari)
The Campaign
The Say No to Bottled Water campaign is about giving up wasteful and environmentally harmful bottled water and return to drinking tap water. High consumer demand for bottled water has had a heavy and unnecessary impact on our environment in recent years, exacerbating climate change and adding to the long-term causes behind the global food shortage affecting 1 billion people.
The campaign message is simple:
Water is a gift from Allah. Bottled water is an injustice to our planet and to fellow human beings.
The Problem
Bottled Water is Wasteful
- 1.5 million barrels of oil are used per year to produce plastic water bottles. This is enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars for a full year. (EPI 2006)
- For every gallon of water that goes into plastic bottles, two gallons of water is wasted during production. This adds to the world’s water shortage crisis.
- The growth in bottled water production has created water shortages for farmers worldwide as large multi-national corporations privatise public water sources. The water shortage means that farmers produce less crops, adding to the world’s food crisis affecting a billion people every day.
- Bottled water costs between 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water. (EPI, 2006)
- Thames Water calculated that bottled water in London costs 1,000 times more than that from the tap. (Thames Water, 2009)
Destruction of the Environment
- Every year, 200,000,000,000 litres of bottled water are consumed globally which generates 1,500,000 tons of plastic waste. (Lighter Footstep, 2008)
- Year after year, three out of four plastic bottles go un-recycled. (WRAP 2007)
- Plastic is believed to constitute 90% of all rubbish floating in the oceans. The UN Environment Programme estimated in 2006 that every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic.
- An island of waste in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States. (The Independent 05/02/2008)
- Islands of plastic rubbish in the ocean have a devastating impact on wildlife, killing thousands of birds and fish which mistake the waste for food.
- Although we know that transport is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation alone of bottled water in Britain is estimated to produce 33,200 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual energy use of 6,000 homes. (EPI, 2006)
- On average 22 million tonnes of bottled water is transported from country to country each year. (CIWEM)
The Solution
Ask for Tap Water
- Tap water is both cheaper than bottled water and is kinder to the environment. Studies show that in many cities tap water is also healthier than bottled water. (EPI, 2006)
Purchase a Reusable Bottle
- Invest in a reusable water bottle that you can use year after year. A number of companies produce various bottle types made from recycled materials. As well as preventing you from adding to the world’s environmental disaster, they will keep your water cool too!
Buy a Filter
- If the quality of your water at home is bad, buying a water filter with changeable cartridges will be cheaper and kinder to the environment than purchasing bottled water.
Take action!
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If you support the campaign and would like to see your local mosque or school adopt a more environmentally friendly policy, you can make an impact by taking these two easy campaign actions.
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Water is a gift from Allah. Bottled water is an injustice to our planet and to fellow human beings.
Let’s all stop buying bottled water, it’s the least we can do.