Title: Sandbox
Course: Project week - Leuphana-Copy

Q: [Image: Green roof | (c) Jayesh Patil on flickr]

Many people in developing countries have difficulties accessing clean drinking water, whereas citizens in the U.S. and E.U. member states spend billions of dollars buying bottled water – although clean drinking water from the tap is available.

One way to evaluate the usefulness of a product is to compare its costs and benefits. In the case of water bottles, think of its production process: How much water is used on average to produce just one bottle in comparison to its water capacity?
- It takes twice the amount of water to produce the bottle compared to its capacity.
- The amount of water to produce the bottle equals the amount to fill it.
- It takes 4 times the amount of water to produce the bottle compared to its capacity.
- It takes 3 times the amount of water to produce the bottle compared to its capacity.
- There is no water needed in the production process of a plastic bottle.
A: It takes 3 times the amount of water to produce the bottle compared to its capacity.
Feedback: Did you know...?! Annually, 53 billion gallons of bottled water are consumed all around the world. To produce the bottle itself you will need three times the amount of water as you can eventually fill in. Additionally, around 17 million barrels of oil (that is, over 2 billion liters!) are used in the production process of water bottles annually – enough to fuel 100 million cars for a whole year! Because only 1 out of 5 water bottles is recycled, the remaining four bottles contribute to the huge amount of plastic waste. More surprisingly, an average bottle of water costs $10 per gallon compared to tap water, which costs only $.0015 per gallon. So, why pay when you can have the same product for a much lower price? [fa-leanpub] Learn more about this topic and visit the Facts About Bottled Water.