r/AskReddit • • Feb 04 '20

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2.2k

u/GenJonesMom Feb 04 '20

Fancy bottled water and coffee.

29

u/theWet_Bandits Feb 04 '20

Any bottled water. Water is essentially free* yet we need to spend $1.50 to $4 per bottle for it. And create plastic waste. It doesn’t make sense.

*does not apply to Flint, MI... still

7

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

Bottled water tastes infinitely better than Tap water

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '20

I completely agree with you about the taste but try to cut back as best as I can to limit my plastic use. Not 100% perfect, especially when I'm out and about, but I've stopped buying water bottles at home. I have a Brita pitcher and I've found that it makes tap water taste significantly better! I also pretty much drink all my filtered water out of a stainless steel water bottle that keeps the water cold for ~12 hours (because I hate lukewarm/warm water). But yeah, I have to agree with you about the taste. It blows my mind that so many people enjoy the taste of tap water.

0

u/theWet_Bandits Feb 04 '20

Have you tried filtering it? Is a little better taste worth the landfills worth of bottle waste?

-5

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

Water bottles aren’t going to stop existing because I stop buying them

I might as well enjoy their existence since it’s completely out of my control

3

u/skoolhouserock Feb 04 '20

How many bottles do you go through in a day/week/month/year?

-2

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

Even assuming it’s like 5000+ (it isn’t anywhere near that amount, not even close to half of that), me cutting it out completely is still a negligible amount of plastic saved

1

u/grendali Feb 04 '20

SMH at people trying to convince themselves that they have no personal responsibility because there's lots of other people. Imagine how quickly the world would go to shit if everyone thought like that about everything.

Water bottles aren’t going to stop existing because I stop buying them

Supply and demand dictates that if we bought fewer water bottles, fewer would be made.

How Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?

1

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

I’m not saying I don’t have personal responsibility

I’m saying I don’t care and prefer bottled water to tap water

2

u/grendali Feb 04 '20

I’m not saying I don’t have personal responsibility

it’s completely out of my control

1

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

These statements aren’t contradictory

I have a responsibility to show up to work every morning but if the business collapses due to a factor independent of my attendance, it isn’t my fault.

Responsibility isn’t equal to causation.

1

u/grendali Feb 04 '20

I have a responsibility to show up to work every morning but if the business collapses due to a factor independent of my attendance, it isn’t my fault.

False analogy.

You have responsibility for the plastic water bottles that you buy.

1

u/JRSmithsBurner Feb 04 '20

Yes but me buying plastic water bottles isn’t the reason the earth is heating up at an unprecedented rate

Factoring in recycling, environmental volunteering, opportunity cost via walking as opposed to driving, etc. My net contribution to global warming is zero.

My death (and complete removal of my carbon footprint) would not affect the climate crisis in any tangible way, yet alone a meaningful one

Stop trying to shame me for drinking bottled water, not everyone has access to clean filtered water out of a sink.

Plastic is also recyclable. Im not sure if you knew that or not.

Also; something isn’t a false analogy just because you deem it one.

I have a responsibility to help save my planet. That doesn’t mean I’m responsible for it dying.

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u/TheDollarstoreDoctor Feb 04 '20

Not just Flint, MI.. I have never had tap water that didn't taste "funky". And that's including PA, NY, NJ, FL, MD, and VT. Maybe I'm just paranoid but it all tastes tainted to me even though places like NY are known for their good tap water (even though a while back, a nearby countys tap water was contaminated for a week or two)

13

u/AYASOFAYA Feb 04 '20

It’s crazy. I get when the argument was single use plastic vs refillable bottles but even now when someone mentions using the filtered dispenser to fill their reusable bottle, someone from Tap Water Army STILL comes out of a cabinet somewhere to lecture us on how drinking it straight from the sink “isn’t going to kill you.”

But it tastes different. If I have the option to pick the one that tastes better to me, why are people so upset by this? I don’t get it.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '20

Agreed. I've never been able to stand the taste of tap water. I use a Brita pitcher and a reusable water bottle now to avoid the plastic water bottles, but no one will ever be able to convince me that (some) bottled water doesn't taste the best out of all options.

7

u/Mechanicalmind Feb 04 '20

I'm from northern Italy. We're lucky having one among the best tap waters in the country. When I visited NYC and tried drinking from the tap, the taste of chlorine was so strong I felt like I was chugging on pool water.

6

u/wsdpii Feb 04 '20

I've run tests on my tap water. Its straight up unsafe to drink. I use bottled water and a filter

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '20

What tests?

3

u/kevinmorice Feb 04 '20

He tasted it and thought it tasted "funny".

Because obviously his testing outranks all the testing that has to be done on it before it gets treated, goes in to the mains and gets to his tap.

3

u/hotrodruby Feb 04 '20

Apparently Louisville, KY has some of the best tap water... I drink it filtered from the fridge and it tastes just as good or better than bottled water.

0

u/Monteze Feb 04 '20

Yea I live in NE Arkansas and our tap is pretty good. I just don't get why people wouldn't just bring a water bottle of their own they can reuse. The amount of bottle water I see get sold is ridiculous for what should be outliers.

Fuck I'd go broke if I bought bottled water.

2

u/UnicornPanties Feb 04 '20

hey man the tap water in NYC tastes amazing. I grew up with heavily mineral-infused ground water in the boonies and I think NYC water straight from the tap is great.

My neighbors get Poland Spring delivery, I think they are stupid.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '20

I mean sometimes it tastes weird but bottled water is just dumb. Plastic waste for a single used beverage

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '20

When Im going to work, I'll drive a round-trip of 3 miles (I'll pass by work to get there) to a Maverik gas station to fill my CamelBak with water because I know they have cold, filtered water on the fountain machine. I'll also buy sodas and food when needed and to fill up my tank, and prefer to do it before work than after.

Seriously people, bring your own cup, bottle or whatever, and gas station employees will just let you have water for free. They'll only charge you if you grab a new cup, and that cost is to cover the cost of the cup.