60% of adults view bottled water as waste of money

27th May 2010, 11:03am

Some 60% of UK adults view bottled water as a waste of money, according to a new YouGov SixthSense report.

The report also found that almost three quarters of respondents (71%) agreed that tap water is as clean as bottled water.

The results echo the findings of a survey carried out by the charity WaterAid in 2009, which found that around two thirds of consumers are now opting for tap water when they visit restaurants.

This report coincides with new findings released by C-Crest Laboratories in Canada, where Dr. Sonish Azam claims that 70% of bottled water found in shops contains high levels of bacteria.

James McCoy, research director for YouGov SixthSense, said: "The mineral water market has experienced exponential growth over the past ten years but signs are this may be coming to an end. New reports are significant in altering the interrelated perceptions of tap water and bottled water, but the recession, innovations in home filtering and the popularity of Britta-style products may also have contributed to the renewed faith in tap-water."

Only 27% of respondents drink bottled mineral water in an average day, with 58% typically consuming tap water. Interestingly, those better off are most likely to drink tap water, with 62% of the more affluent drinking tap water, as opposed to the 53% of their typically less well off counterparts.

The health benefits of drinking water have been widely publicised and evidence within the report suggests that that the public has been generally receptive to new research, with 65% of UK adults currently trying to drink more water. However, the same report also suggests that one in three UK adults fail to drink tap or bottled water in an average day.

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Margaret Wilde

27 May 2010 at 2:45pm

Our UK drinking water from our taps is a well-monitored, high quality, safe commodity for which we already pay. It's good that most people realise this and do not get misled into thinking that by paying a great deal more to have drinking water presented in a bottle that the water content will be superior to the cheaper tap water. Bottled water is a waste of money and a waste of resources to make the bottles and to transport them from their place of origin - not to mention the disposal problem of dealing with the empty plastic bottles in some way.

SixthSense

03 June 2010 at 10:11am

The full report can be found here - http://bit.ly/cTDOsD

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