Among the many records that Italy holds is also that, not very honorable, of being the world's leading consumer of bottled mineral water: as many as 220 liters a year each, followed by Mexico. In Europe after us we find Germany with 195 liters, France and Spain with 140, while the British reach about 50 liters. This exaggerated consumption in general is not justified in a country where tap water in many cases is of excellent quality. According to ISTAT, the number of families who do not trust to drink tap water has increased from 40% in 2002 to 29% in 2018, but this trend does not seem to affect the consumption of plastic bottled water, which in the last ten years has seen a constant increase in sales. These are (2018 data), excluding glass bottles, a number of bottles equal to almost 12 billion, which in significant part are not recycled because they are not collected separately. The pandemic from Covid-19 has however made to mark in the purchases a setback: the data emerges from the last Coop report on the purchases of the Italians in the GDO in the period June-August 2020, that indicates a decrease of sales of 3,5% for the sparkling water and of 14,3% for the natural one. A valid alternative remains therefore the tap water, very often of excellent quality. If, however, it is not to your liking, we remind you that in many places of our territory there are the "Water Houses", managed by SMAT, from which natural and sparkling water can be tapped. The map with the positioning of the "Water Houses" is visible on our site on the page "Reduce and reuse points".
Source: Il Fatto alimentare