Strongest Supporting Argument: Pollution.

The widespread overuse of water bottles is the cause of many forms of pollution. Countless landfills are filled with plastic water bottles that are anything but biodegradable--in fact, plastic is estimated to take 1,000 years to decompose. The number of bottles thrown away are estimated to be around the 30 millions--around 86% of the total number of water bottles used--around 2 billion pounds a year are left behind just by water bottles in landfills. Almost 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere every year just from the transportation of bottled water to California. In addition to that estimate, even more carbon pollution is spewed into the air and water as far away countries/regions ship their brands of filtered tap water all over the world.

The Pro vs. Con

The issue of the overuse of water bottles has become a talked-about, mentioned-in-articles issue--it has become another component of the growing green revolution. Supporters of the constant use (& throwing away of) water bottles argue that its convenience is unmatched, that the water within the bottles is purer, that throwing out one plastic bottle per day won't do any harm. The cons: even if the average plastic water bottle is convenient, the mountains of plastic bottles in landfills are enormous--close to 90% of all water bottles used are thrown away as opposed to being recycled; in addition, plastic takes an estimated 1,000 years to deteriorate, so millions of bottles stay and fill up landfills; in addition to the millions of barrels of crude oil used to create the water bottles, countless more barrels are used to ship said bottles to their destinations; a constant supply of water bottles is hard on the wallet; most bottled water is filtered tap water in fancy packaging; government administrations inspect public water works more frequently and throughly than bottled water companies; the making of water bottles uses up precious natural resources.

The mass consumption and throwing away of water bottles needs to be dramatically reduced; doing so will undoubted lead to less use of oil, less pollution as well as utilize efficient and perfectly well-operating public water facilities.

Overview of Topic

My topic concerns the ever-popular use of water bottles. Even though many companies have recently launched campaigns where they reduce the plastic used for the water bottles by 30% in order to "go green," the widespread use of water bottles, the majority of which accumulate to form mountains of plastic, is largely detrimental to the environment. The barrels of oil used to make the water bottles and ship them to their respective sites are in the millions, and endless landfills are consisted of millions of bottles--all of which could be recycled. This issue is a point of debate between my parents and I: I am always trying to get them to recycle water bottles and/or buy Nalgene products; they argue that one family's output will not make a difference. In addition to having a personal connection to this issue, this topic also arises frequently among newpaper articles or magazine specials I come across, and after reading several papers about it, I've become interested. The public should revert back to utilizing tap water, water fountains, and/or public water facilities.