People consume billions of gallons of bottled water every year. Getting all that water to them leaves a huge carbon footprint - the bottles need to be made and later recycled (if they do, over 90% still ends up on landfills), the water needs to be packaged and shipped to the retailers where it often is refrigerated. All that uses up a lot of fuel.

Drinking tap-water instead of bottled water is an easy switch you can make, yet the impact on the environment is enormous - tens of millions of barrels of oil are needed to generate the energy needed for producing bottled water annually.

There are many other good reasons to ditch bottled water besides saving the environment. In average, it costs about 500 (but can go up to 10 000) times more than tap water, yet can sometimes be less clean or safe than tap water as the latter gets tested and cleaned more thoroughly before it reaches its end-user. At least a quarter of all bottled water is actually just bottled tap water which makes buying it quite a waste of money and effort as not just expensive, but heavy.

If you feel a bit unsure about your tap-water, call the local water company and ask about the purity. If you don’t like the taste, use filters that can be attached to the tap or a fridge if it has a water dispensing system. Squeezing a bit of citrus juice (lemon, lime, grapefruit) into your water adds a nice fresh taste to it and gives you some vitamin C.

If you like carrying water around with you, buy an non-disposable bottle and refill it yourself. Besides being eco-friendly, they also come in attractive styles and you can choose the size and design just right for you. Some of them even fold together when empty, so they won't be taking any room in your bag. Yet you will always have a refreshing drink that doesn't break the bank or the planet.