The least you can do is use a refillable container.
10+ years ago Google switched from bottle water to giving everyone a container. And that was a great move. Yet people complained, and a few years later we were back to bottled water.
What a waste.
Soda, juice, etc. were sold in bottles which normalized it.
Then people wanted to be healthier and so putting water in a bottle at events/meetings felt like providing a healthy choice to people, directly next to the unhealthy choices. Plus the water in small bottles could be kept cold in ice more easily. Also sparkling water already needed to be in bottles, so it seems even more natural to have still water next to it in the same way too.
People in some parts of the country also realized the bottled water tasted better than their local highly chlorinated tap water. (Other parts of the country there's no difference.)
The industry didn't even have to convince anyone. It's genuinely consumer-led.
And refillable containers have their own disadvantages. It's not always easy to lug one around the office as you juggle your laptop and documents and phone, or you forget it in another conference room, etc. It's easy to keep in a backpack, but people aren't usually lugging their backpack to every meeting or to the cafeteria.
I'm not defending single-use water bottles... but sometimes I do wonder if all the materials+energy spent on refillable bottles has actually turned into a huge net loss, as so many of them go unused, lost or thrown out long before they'd achieve a net positive.
And yet they spent millions doing just that when research showed that people had no interest in buying it:
https://priceonomics.com/the-ad-campaign-that-convinced-amer...
But of course to ban sugary drinks would cut into the realm of personal choice right? After all people may choose to want a sugary beverage. So no one argues that case.
Still it's weird to draw the line at bottled water and not further along. I used to live near a council area (Manly City Council) that banned bottled water. It meant you could only buy sugary drinks at the local corner store. Go to the beach and forget your water bottle? You better like Coca-Cola because that's all they'll sell you!
I'm not opposed to encouraging people to use a re-usable container. But i am opposed to a ban on something that's far better than the alternatives that remain unbanned.
> ban sugary drinks would cut into the realm of personal choice right?
if you're talking about environmental effects then its no longer a personal choice issue.
Obviously we should be discouraging the use of soda and alcohol and such.
Your comment reveals your age. The parent and myself are old enough to remember a time when you could go to numerous public places and drink from a water fountain.
It also showcases just how far we've fallen as a society and have settled to create profit seeking solutions at the expense of what is best for society.
https://www.today.com/food/video-woman-licking-container-blu...
For example, in London it's "safe" to drink tap water, it does not contain toxic checmicals of bacteria, but it is calcium rich, and drinking it constantly may be harmful for kidneys.
This can only be solved by shifting from the "wish upon a star that all consumers will somehow solve the problem themselves" strategy to putting the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the people profiting from putting municipal water in single-use plastic bottles.
Several years ago, I paid a couple hundred bucks to get my municipal water (large U.S. city) tested in a lab.
After seeing the results, I almost never drink tap water, and I buy a gallon of spring water (in clear plastic) on most days for my own use.
I think many workplaces also have filtered water, including every place of worked at (although not everyone uses it).
The "water cooler" was a really good solution!
Specifically it does very little for bacteria, viruses, and other organic compounds.
Anyway, I've been drinking filtered tap for 15+ years all over the United States -- never had a problem and tastes great.
TV won't give you any useful information.
Many reasons. Mostly distrust on how potable the water actually is (events like Flint didn't help). Some locations have water that tastes bad - even if it should be otherwise healthy.
What I don't understand is how small bottles became a thing. Sure, if you are out and about it might be convenient to carry some, as they are sealed containers. But some people buy them for normal consumption.
At least use the big bottles that are supposed to be used with watercoolers. Those are actually reused.