Tap water comes out top in taste test
21 September 2006
Almost 80% of Londoners can't taste the difference between the capital's tap water and leading brands of bottled water, according to survey results published this week.
The same survey also found that almost two thirds of residents actually prefer the taste of tap water under blind test conditions.
Over 650 people took the taste test as part of Recycle Western Riverside's (RWR) 'Test the water' campaign, which aims to help reduce plastic bottle waste by urging consumers to bin their bottled water habit and turn to the tap.
The taste tests were held last month in shopping centres, parks and outside tube stations across south and west London. At the road show style events, RWR explained to residents that as well as being a more sustainable alternative to bottled water, tap water is safe, healthy, cheap and convenient. Hundreds of consumers pledged to ditch bottled water after taking the taste test.
Jackie McKeay, RWR project co-ordinator said: "Many consumers buy bottled water because they think it tastes better, but we've proved that under blind taste test conditions tap water comes out as the favourite."
"Bottled water consumption is doubling in the UK every five years and each person in the country now drinks almost 40 litres of bottled water each year. Sadly over 90% of these plastic bottles end up buried in landfill sites. By turning to the tap our participants are helping to reduce this plastic bottle mountain."
In a two week trial over three quarters of participants found that their black sack rubbish has decreased as a result of giving up bottled water. Encouragingly nearly all participants say they will keep up the good work and continue to drink tap water.
Phyllis Meares from West Dulwich is one of the consumers who stopped buying bottled water as a result of the campaign. She said "I thought I was fairly green before - I've always recycled my wine bottles and composted my kitchen waste, so I can't believe I never thought about all the plastic bottles I used to throw away. I hope my friends and family will follow my example and stop buying bottled water too."
Jackie added: "The plastic waste generated by bottled water consumption isn't the only negative impact this industry has on the environment. The energy cost of producing billions of plastic bottles from oil and transporting the bottles thousands of miles makes bottled water one of the UK's most wasteful luxuries."