Why are Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff paying $9 a gallon for WATER???

Aren't we supposed to be smart?

To encourage students to start carrying reusable bottles instead of buying bottled water, we have been posting these fliers on water fountains, vending machines and trash cans around campus. 

Facts about bottled water:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently does not regulate 51 known water contaminants. (www.foodandwaterwatch.org)
• According to the National Resources Defense Council, in a scientific study in which more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water were tested, about one-third of the bottles contained synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic. (www.nrdc.org)
• Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.  (CBS News, Flow http://www.flowthefilm.com/aboutwater)
• Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption take 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, according to a 2007 resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year!  (USA Today www.usatoday.com)
• In roughly the last 10 years, the amount of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles being recycled increased from about 775 million pounds in 1995 to about 1,170 million in 2005, according to the Container Recycling Institute.  But during the same time period, the amount of PET bottles going into landfills skyrocketed from 1,175 million to 3,900 million pounds.  (http://www.container-recycling.org/)
• Some cities, including San Francisco, Albuquerque, Minneapolis, and Seattle, have banned city purchase of single-serve bottled water because of waste impact from the bottles and because it's viewed as an unnecessary cost to taxpayers.  (USA Today www.usatoday.com)

For more information about water privatization, we highly recommend this documentary!

Click on the poster to view the trailer.