No good reason for Hongkongers to buy bottled water
Edwin Lau says given the waste that goes into producing and using water in a plastic bottle, and that it’s safe to drink from the tap, people should take their own water when they go out
“Convenient and fast” are words often used in marketing as companies push for higher profits. Consumers can be swayed relatively easily by such vocabulary in promotions and advertisements to create consumption desire, whether or not the product is really needed.
Take bottled water for example. Do we in Hong Kong really need it when we can get safe drinking water from the tap? It involves high profit margins, and has a profoundly harmful effect on the environment. According to research, it takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water. That’s quite apart from the energy used and carbon emissions generated from its production and transportation.
Do we in Hong Kong really need it when we can get safe drinking water from the tap?
This is happening when scientists are warning that climate change will affect worldwide water supplies. Hong Kong already has to rely heavily on the mainland for its supply.
The Environmental Protection Department says Hong Kong throws away four to five million plastic bottles every day. With such a huge amount of waste generated, should we not stop to think why we need to buy bottled water?
One reason is that there’s no penalty for the disposal of plastic bottles. Furthermore, producers of bottled drinks are not obliged to recycle their bottles.
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