2018 is the year of mobilisation against plastic waste. Institutions, associations and civil society have joined forces to reduce its use and lighten the burden on the planet. Starting with bottled water consumption.
The plastic ending up in the oceans could wrap around the entire planet four times. Across the world, every sixty seconds, one million plastic bottles are sold, while more than 25 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year in Europe alone. Of these, according to a recent report drawn up by the OECD, only 30 per cent is recycled; figures that drop to 15 per cent if we widen our scope to the global level. Once it reaches the sea, plastic can take up to a thousand years to break down, entering the food chain and affecting the entire trophic chain, starting with the smallest organisms. A genuine emergency, which is also highlighted on World Oceans Day, celebrated around the world on 8 June and which this year is dedicated precisely to preventing pollution caused by the abandonment of plastic objects and bottles, and to developing solutions to keep our oceans healthy.
It is not just the familiar images of turtles feeding on plastic bags, or whales stranded because they are ensnared in layer upon layer of plastic. Recently, the Cnr-Ismar found that the Mediterranean is one of the seas with the highest concentration of microplastics, not only in areas of high human activity, but also in marine protected areas, where conservation should be the primary objective. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we risk having more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.
Italy ranks fifth in Europe for tap water quality, after Austria, Sweden, Ireland and Hungary. And yet Italians are among the highest consumers of bottled water, third in the world. Only Mexico, which records a consumption of 264 litres of water per capita, and Thailand, with 246 litres, rank above us. Our fellow citizens "stop" at 196 litres a year, despite the water that reaches our homes being monitored, affordable and safe, as it is subject to dozens and dozens of analyses across the entire distribution network.
Of course, it can happen that the water flowing from taps may present differences in taste, smell or colour. And that bottled water is therefore preferred, with all the problems this entails: seven billion bottles (in Italy alone) to dispose of every year, not to mention transport and logistics.
To address the problem, one could opt for the installation of a domestic filtration system. Among the simplest available on the market are activated carbon microfiltration systems, which make it possible to reduce the presence of chlorine and certain sediments. Vegetable charcoal is used, which behaves like an extremely porous stone. But if one wishes to tackle dissolved salts, emerging contaminants (such as hormones derived from pharmaceuticals, Pfas and Pfoa) or undesirable elements (such as hexavalent chromium, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury), it is necessary to install reverse osmosis systems.
A reverse osmosis system, especially when combined with an ultrafiltration system, is in fact a useful tool for having bacteriologically pure water at home. Thanks to the use of a special membrane, this technology is able to filter out unwanted elements such as nitrates and pesticides, while also preventing the passage of bacteria, viruses and endotoxins. The system makes it possible to have water that is both better-tasting and safer.
It is estimated that producing 1 kg of PET, from which approximately 28 plastic bottles of 1.5 litres are made, requires 2 kg of oil; therefore, for 37.5 litres of drinking water in bottles, 2.8 kg of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. The installation of a reverse osmosis system makes it possible to reduce bottled water consumption, plastic use and consequently also CO2 emissions: approximately 150 kg per capita in a year. Without forgetting the financial savings for consumers: filtered tap water still costs half as much as bottled water.
Reducing the purchase of bottled water is therefore possible. It is simply a matter of changing habits and, for once, making the right choice.