Students put their tasting skills to the test in the Tap Water Challenge on Tuesday in the Student Union to see if they could tell the difference between tap and bottled water.
The eco-friendly event, hosted by UB Green and the Environmental Network, highlighted the negative effects of plastic bottles on the environment.
"We have to be more aware of how bottled water affects us," said Danielle Peters, a junior environmental science major and member of the Environmental Network. "By removing bottled water vending machines on campus, we can make a big difference. It's not that bottled water is healthier than tap, it's just a convenience factor."
Part of the problem with bottled water is the money spent on manufacturing and transportation, according to Michelle Woznick, a junior environmental studies major and UB Green intern. She explained that large corporations are buying the rights to municipal water sources.
"Since corporations are buying up water rights... people will be more apt to buy bottled water over using tap water," Woznick said. "Corporations are gaining control of water. If they control the water, they control the price."
The Tap Water Challenge was part of the Think Outside the Bottle event, created by Corporate Accountability International (CAI), a non-profit organization that challenges corporate abuses, according to the CAI Web site. CAI holds the event on campuses across the country to raise awareness about the decisions corporations make that put their financial goals ahead of the wellbeing of the environment, according to their Web site.
Bottled water manufacturers invest millions of dollars on advertisements that lead the public to believe that it is safer and of better quality than tap water, according to Woznick. Bottled water, however, often consists of up to about 40 percent tap water.
??? Public water systems are required by law to disclose the source quality of their water. They are accountable to the public, while bottled water companies are not, according to Woznick.
"Public water is FDA regulated," Woznick said. "Bottled water isn't as regulated."
The Tap Water Challenge was part of the larger RecycleMania, a competition between universities to see which school can recycle the most.
UB Green wants people to have faith in municipal water, according to Woznick.
"Most people usually can't tell the difference," Woznick said. "This is a great way to raise awareness, and it shows that it tastes the same."
Additional reporting by Managing Editor Keeley Sheehan.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
