Water is everywhere. In drinking fountains and plastic bottles, found in places from vending machines to stores, even tap water from our sinks. All of these different ways to drink water are put into two main categories, bottled water, and tap water. Both are good options to drink, but which is better? I believe tap is the way to go. It’s still convenient, and it’s filtered just like bottled water, tap water is way better for the environment, and bottled water can be a waste of our natural resources.

Tap water is just as convenient and clean as bottled water. Some people say that the only way to travel with water is carrying a plastic water bottle around with you. But what about the reusable bottles? They’re way better for the environment, and you still get the convenience of clean, fresh water. Also, just like bottled water, tap is filtered. Many people complain that tap water tastes funny, or that it’s not as clean as bottled water, because of all the dirt or rust, or anything that could be in our water. Sure, tap water tastes different than bottled water, but the only real difference in the water is the fluoride that the government puts in our tap water. Fluoride is a mineral that strengthens your teeth. When water is filtered before it goes into a plastic bottle, the filters take out all of the fluoride. So really, tap water is better for you. I don’t think that we should ban bottled water, I just think that we should watch how many plastic bottles we’re using, if it’s necessary to drink a bottled water, and if we recycle the bottles.
    

All of the pollution from bottled water is extremely bad for the environment, and all of that pollution doesn't  benefit anyone. More than 2.4 million tons of carbon dioxide are dumped in the production of the making of plastic bottles. And, about 80% of all plastic bottles are NOT recycled. “Water from public water systems is often compromised after emergency situations or natural disasters(e.g., hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, boil alerts. During these times, bottled water is a necessary and reliable alternative to deliver clean, safe drinking water.” Says the IBWA(International Bottled Water Association). So, we don’t need to ban bottled water, but we definitely should only use it if there's no other water options. If tap waters available, then take advantage of it and don’t waste the plastic!
    

When we drink from a plastic water bottle we should also think about all of the natural resources that we waste when making, and shipping those plastic bottles. Every year we waste so much gas, oil, water, when we could just go into our kitchen and get a glass of tap water! So far, we’ve used over 17 million barrels of oil, not even including the oil used for transportation, claims the Ban the Bottle campaign. The Ban the Bottle campaign also says that all of oil we’ve used could keep 1.3 million cars on the road for a year! Some companies use 3 liters of water,  just to make a 1 liter bottle of water! Every year 16.4 billion gallons of water are used to make water bottles, not including the water that fills the water bottles! All of those natural resources are important, and should be used for something better than just water put into a plastic container.
    

Bottled water, and tap water can both great, clean, and safe options for drinking water. Tap water is very important, and most of the time we should drink that instead of bottled water to save the plastic. But, as long as we watch the plastic and the pollution, bottled water can be a great option as well.