Bottled water criticised by report

WWF: Bottled water may be no safer, or healthier than tap water

LONDON, England (CNN) -- People may be wasting their money and harming the environment every time they purchase bottled water, according to a study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The report said there was no difference in health benefits between tap water and bottled water.

"In fact, there are more standards regulating tap water in Europe and the United States than those applied to the bottled water industry," it added.

There is also a staggering difference in the price -- bottled water is 500 to a 1,000 times more expensive.

The WWF also blames bottled water for causing damage to the environment saying not only are many of the bottles not recyclable, but the transport process also contributes to the greenhouse effect.

About a quarter of bottled water is transported outside the country it is bottled in which drives up costs and results in carbon dioxide, it said.

Some 1.5 million tonnes of plastic is used every year by the bottled water industry, with the toxic chemical involved posing a threat to the environment at both the manufacturing and the disposal stage, according to WWF.

The bottled water industry is worth some $22 billion a year with Western Europe being one of the biggest markets. World consumption is growing at a rate of some 7 percent a year.

The bottled water industry says the products are portable, good tasting and healthy.

The industry creates thousands of jobs, and manufacturers say they are making every effort to be environmentally friendly.

Richard Laming, with the British Soft Drinks Federation, told CNN: "We are committed to some very tough targets for recycling to ensure that the plastic used in plastic bottles can be recovered and reused."

The United States-based International Bottled Water Association, whose companies account for some 80 percent of U.S. sales, blasted the report as containing a "number of factual misrepresentations."

The association said it shared the WWF's belief that cleaning and protecting the world's water resources should be a priority.

"Unfortunately, the WWF has elected to attack the bottled water industry -- not the problem itself," it said in a statement to Reuters.

The study -- "Bottled water: Understanding a social phenomenon" -- was commissioned by the WWF from Geneva University researcher Catherine Ferrier as part of its campaign to improve drinking water standards worldwide.

CNN’s Tom Bogdanowicz contributed to this report

Timber certification plan aims to protect world's forests
WWF adds its voice to youth vote drive

WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.