subject: The water filling machines industry created its own water culture [print this page] The water filling machines industry created its own water culture
Bottled water consumption has grown exponentially over the past ten to fifteen years. This growth has taken place globally, but particularly in Europe and North America. The water filling machines industry has literally created its own water culture. For example, when one enters a gas station, grocery store or a restaurant in any country of the world, one is bound to find at least a few different brands of bottled water. Bottled water is somewhat less likely to be found in developing countries, where public water is least safe to drink. Many government programs regularly disperse bottled water for various reasons. Distributing small bottles of water is much easier than distributing large bulk storages of water. Also contamination from large water storage containers is much more likely than from single 12-20 ounce bottles of water.
Many countries have become very oriented toward water filling machines . According to a 2001 World Wildlife Fund survey, individuals around the globe consume some 89 billion liters of bottle water annually, worth roughly $22 million. Citizens of the U.S. alone consume about 13 billions liters of bottled water. A 2000 report conducted by Yankelovich Partneers of the Rockefeller University discovered that 2.3 eight-ounce servings of the total 6.1 servings of water that are consumed daily are bottled water in the U.S. Bottled Water Consumption.
So which areas of our world are consuming the largest amounts of bottle water? Splash's website provides a wealth of knowledge regarding who, what type, regulations and an overview of the market. Below is a graph of 1999 filling machines in liters per person, courtesy of Splash's Freshwater Newsletter. Surprisingly, Western Europe consumes almost 50% of the world's bottled water. Many claim that this is due to European culture, since the continent has had very polluted waters due to agriculture and industry dating back to the Industrial Revolution.
