Sociology Essay: Analyzing Bottled Water and Tap Water Differences

This sociology essay delves into the ongoing debate between bottled and tap water, examining their differences from a societal standpoint. It explores consumer preferences, health concerns, environmental impacts, and economic factors associated with each water source. The essay highlights the rising popularity of bottled water, contrasting it with the affordability and potential safety of tap water. It also discusses the environmental consequences of plastic bottle usage, the taste perceptions of each type of water, and the cost disparities between them. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding these issues and making informed decisions about water consumption, while also touching upon the role of government and local authorities in ensuring water purity and accessibility. The conclusion reinforces the need for a balanced perspective, considering both individual and societal implications of choosing between bottled and tap water, advocating for sustainable practices and responsible consumption patterns.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY
The purpose of the following essay is to discuss on the differences between the bottled
water and tap water. Water is probably the most useful thing for the sustenance of life on earth.
Therefore, water resources must be preserved carefully. Otherwise, it would be impossible for
the human beings to get the supply of the water perfectly. Otherwise, life cannot be sustained
because all the creatures, be it human beings or animals or birds, all need the water to live. All
the human beings need 4 to 5 liters of water every day to keep our organs in a smooth function.
Scientists have argued that human beings lose 2 to 3 liters of water per day because sweating and
other bodily functions (Van Der Linden, 2015). This essay will look to analyze the importance of
the tap water and the bottled water so the issues can be resolved properly. All the human beings
must make sure that they intake the correct amount of water so they can thrive in this world.
The only question that remains in the minds of the common people is the type of water
that human beings should drink. The controversy between the bottled water and tap water is
probably the biggest issue about drinking the best kind of water (Etale, Jobin & Siegrist, 2018).
It must be addressed in this issue that most people in the world are inclined to drink the bottled
water instead of the tap water.
Therefore, it must be noted that the users of bottled water has been rising at a rate of 7%
every year. Most health organizations believe that bottled water is much safer than the tap water.
The fear of arsenic and other minerals can be very problematic for the safety of the tap water. In
this scenario, most critics have claimed the fact that the water of the bottled water comes from
the taps only (Van Der Linden, 2015). This is the reason as most people have argued that the tap
water is much better and safer than the tap water in many ways.

2SOCIOLOGY
Critics who believe in the fact that tap water is safer have given their opinions that buying
the bottled water is just another way of wasting the money completely. It has been estimated that
the overall cost of the bottled water will be between $1 per gallon to $9 per gallon (Rosinger et
al., 2018). person should not use such huge amount of money for a thing that is not at all safe for
his health. On the other hand, the tap water comes directly under the soil. Thus, it is deemed to
be very safe and within the limits of the poor people in the society (Jeddi et al., 2015).
There are some factors that should be presented in this context. The bottled water is
contained in the plastic made water bottles. Thus, these plastic bottles will be left over in the
dustbins after the usage. The use of plastic will cause severe problems in the for the nature and it
will cause high levels of pollution. If human beings use the reusable bottles, it will be helpful for
the environment as well as it will provide better opportunities for them to save their money also.
The use of the plastic will definitely pose severe issues in the society and the
environment. According to the statistical measures by the international organizations, it has been
presented that around 86% of the plastic bottles are disposed as garbage in the United States.
Therefore, the proper packaging should be done to avoid all types of issues in terms of the
harmful effects of plastic (Jeddi et al., 2015).
Apart from plastic, the bottles made of aluminum and glass are also disposed in the
garbage areas and they also cause severe problems in the society. The Container Recycling
Institute of the United States has put forth all these issues (Brei & Tadajewski, 2015). They have
presented the fact that the producers of plastic water bottles could have saved up to 72 million
gallons of gasoline if they used recyclable materials worth of 10% in their bottles. This would
have done a great favor for the protection of the environment.

3SOCIOLOGY
Now the question that comes into the mind of most people is regarding the taste of the
water. It seems that the taste of the bottled water is very sweet and tasty. On the contrary, the
taste of the tap water is very odd (Brei & Tadajewski, 2015). Some specialists of environment
have opined that the odd tasting water of the taps never means that the water is contaminated or
something likes that. It is completely healthy and it is full of minerals that come in direct contact
with the common people.
The odd taste in the tap water might be a result of excess amount of chlorine or minerals
in the water. Therefore, one should not be afraid of the tap water and its taste at all. Another
disadvantage of the bottled water remains in its price (Viscusi, Huber & Bell, 2015). The bottled
water is nearly 2000 times costlier than the tap water. So, poor people will not be able to gain the
access of the bottled water (Brei, 2018).
The practice of drinking the tap water will create a level of immunity in the bodies of the
poor people. They can survive in difficult or crisis conditions if bottled water is not at all
available. It has been estimated that the overall price of the bottled single serve water is even
higher than the conventional milk and gasoline in different countries (Viscusi, Huber & Bell,
2015). Therefore, the use of bottled water is beyond the capacity of lower middle class section as
they are the majority section.
Still, there are several environment conscious people who believe that the use of bottled
water would keep them healthy and confident. Sometimes, this bottled water is looked upon as
their social status of belonging to a higher society. This has very little to do with the
environmental factors (Vásquez, 2017). The use of the bottled water is seen in the rich countries
like the United States but the poor courtiers will only rely on their use of the tap water indeed.

4SOCIOLOGY
The use of the bottled water is only there to generate the profits for the companies but tap
water also serves the same purpose also. Tap water will have to go through several stages to clear
the test of purity. Many cases have been found when people got ill after drinking the bottled
water (Huang & Liu, 2017). Bottled water is not always safe and tap water is not always
contaminated. The local governments must think about the various ways through which the water
reservoirs can be kept pure because tap water seems to be better in affordability and purity also.
It does not commit any harm to the environment either (Mason, Welch & Neratko, 2018).
In the concluding part of the essay, it can be highlighted that the quality of the tap water
and the bottled water has always been very much controversial for several years. The mineral
waters or the bottled water can be afforded by the rich people mostly because the companies
apply packaging charges also. Apart from that, these bottles are mostly made of glass, aluminum
and plastic. Therefore, the element of plastic causes problems in the natural environment. On the
other, tap water is free and it can be used by any person. It will be better if they follow the
process of filtration at their house in the natural ways. This will serve the purpose better.

5SOCIOLOGY
References
Brei, V. A. (2018). How is a bottled water market created?. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews:
Water, 5(1), e1220.
Brei, V., & Tadajewski, M. (2015). Crafting the market for bottled water: a social praxeology
approach. European Journal of Marketing.
Huang, L., & Liu, Y. (2017). Health information and consumer learning in the bottled water
market. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 55, 1-24.
Jeddi, M. Z., Rastkari, N., Ahmadkhaniha, R., & Yunesian, M. (2015). Concentrations of
phthalates in bottled water under common storage conditions: Do they pose a health risk
to children?. Food research international, 69, 256-265.
Mason, S. A., Welch, V. G., & Neratko, J. (2018). Synthetic polymer contamination in bottled
water. Frontiers in chemistry, 6, 407.
Rosinger, A. Y., Herrick, K. A., Wutich, A. Y., Yoder, J. S., & Ogden, C. L. (2018). Disparities
in plain, tap and bottled water consumption among US adults: National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2014. Public health nutrition, 21(8),
1455-1464.
Van Der Linden, S. (2015). Exploring beliefs about bottled water and intentions to reduce
consumption: The dual-effect of social norm activation and persuasive
information. Environment and Behavior, 47(5), 526-550.

6SOCIOLOGY
Vásquez, W. F. (2017). Understanding bottled water consumption in a high‐poverty context:
empirical evidence from a small town in Guatemala. International Journal of Consumer
Studies, 41(2), 199-206.
Viscusi, W. K., Huber, J., & Bell, J. (2015). The private rationality of bottled water
drinking. Contemporary Economic Policy, 33(3), 450-467.