Bottled water is often marketed as a healthy alternative to tap water, soft drinks, and sports drinks. But have you ever thought about how it is produced? Water is a natural resource necessary for life on our planet. Access to water is a fundamental human right, so water reserves should be used for the collective good. However, corporations like Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle take advantage of this communal property for profit. It makes even less sense when you realise that for the same price as a standard 600ml bottle you get over 1000 litres of tap water!

Clean Up Australia says that of all the rubbish their volunteers collect, 1 in 10 is related to bottled water. Because the bottles are plastic, non-renewable fossil fuels go into making them. These same plastics frequently end up in landfill and the ocean, taking hundreds of years to break down. Licenses to use groundwater usually lack proper analysis, meaning companies can often drain more than is sustainable from the Australian people. Is an industry that takes water from local communities, places it in unsustainable packaging, and charges an extreme markup really one you want to support?