Alternatives to single-use plastic water bottles

The Royal Gazette – October 8, 2024 – Opinion Article by Erich Hetzel & Katie Berry

This is the third of a four-part series by Beyond Plastic Bermuda in support of its Take Back the Tap campaign

Since we first launched our Take Back the Tap campaign, Beyond Plastic Bermuda has received positive feedback from residents eager to use their own tank water more and spend less money on bottled water. This is excellent news for their health, their wealth and the environment.

But what do they do when they are out and about or travelling? What happens when their tanks are low? Can they trust the quality of water supplied by the water trucks or Bermuda Waterworks?

The answer to the last question is yes — as long as you have a well-maintained tank and, where necessary, an adequate filtration system. Water supplied by Bermuda Waterworks, also known as Watlington Water, is a blended product made at its two reverse osmosis plants in Devonshire. The North Shore plant desalinates seawater and the Parsons Lane plant desalinates brackish water from the underground lens.

When Beyond Plastic Bermuda asked Bermuda Waterworks chief operations officer Karlene Kelly if its water was safe to drink, she replied: “Our utility water is safe to drink. However, our water does contain chlorine which is used as a mandatory disinfecting agent.”

Chlorine, however, can be easily removed from drinking water by using a simple carbon filter. She also added that its water is tested daily, as well as weekly by an approved local laboratory, and annually by a US-based laboratory.

Bermuda’s water trucks get their water from a variety of public and private water sources, which includes rainwater as well as water that has been filtered using reverse osmosis. Trucked water is also chlorinated.

Another drinking water option that is more cost-effective than buying single-use plastic water bottles daily is PureWater. Also produced by Bermuda Waterworks, this water has been processed by reverse osmosis at its North Shore plant and chlorinated before being fed into the Devonshire plant, where it is dechlorinated, softened and distilled. This distilled water is then used to fill up three or five-gallon reusable bottles, which can be attached to a water cooler. While these are plastic, unfortunately, they are not single-use plastic and are therefore less costly — both financially and environmentally.