This is the first of a four-part series of articles supplied by Beyond Plastic Bermuda in support of its “Take Back the Tap” campaign.

Did you know that in the last five years Bermuda’s consumers have spent over $7 million buying bottled water, much of it contained in single-use plastic? That’s money we are spending for something that falls from the sky, for free.

This is a huge amount of money to be spending on a natural resource that we all have sitting in our tanks, or have access to via piped water systems, which are a fraction of the cost of buying bottled water.

This is not just a financial waste. This is a physical waste too. Plastic cannot be recycled in Bermuda. These bottles either end up in our incinerator, releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere when burnt, or littering our island.

This is why Beyond Plastic Bermuda is launching a new campaign: “Take Back the Tap”. We want Bermuda to say “no” to single-use plastic water bottles and instead, save money by drinking appropriately treated tap water.

For anyone concerned about the quality of their tank water, Beyond Plastic Bermuda has spoken to government scientists, water companies and water filtration experts about how to ensure your tap water is safe to drink.

In light of what they know about the quality of Bermuda’s tank water we also asked the scientists at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) if they drank their own tap water. They do.

Through our interviews and research, we have discovered what contaminants may be in our tanks, trucked and piped water, and sought advice about how to minimise water contamination, ensure safe water treatment and implement effective filtration systems that can remove these contaminants from your tank water before you drink it.

For example, carbon filters can remove aluminium, chlorine, chloramines, sediment, certain trace metals and other chemical contaminants. Reverse osmosis systems can remove those contaminants as well as bacteria. UV light treatment can kill bacteria.

We investigated how much it costs to buy bottled water on an ongoing basis, which can be used to compare against the costs of piped water or water filtration systems such as Point of Use (PoU) or Point of Entry (PoE) which are available locally, or water filtration jugs such as Brita.

These findings can be found on our website at https://beyondplastic.bm/drinking-water-in-bermuda/

Why are we doing this? Because hundreds of thousands of plastic water bottles are needlessly shipped to Bermuda each year, contributing to environmental pollution and exposing us to a cocktail of chemicals which can negatively affect our health.

Bottled water companies may promote a healthy image, using photographs of mountain springs, lush greenery and successful athletes to promote their products, but the reality is very different.

A recent study by Columbia University, published in January 2024, found that on average, a litre of bottled water contained around 240,000 detectable plastic fragments. Many of these fragments are nanoplastics, which are microplastics that have broken down. This allows them to pass through the intestines and lungs directly into the bloodstream and travel from there to organs including the heart and brain. These particles can even pass through the placenta and into the bodies of unborn babies.

Some of the plastics found include polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polymethyl methacrylate. These contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are linked to diabetes, obesity and a variety of fertility issues. What’s worse is that they can be passed onto our children in utero.

People are also at risk from the EDCs found in the plastic bottles themselves, including bisphenols and phthalates. If a plastic water bottle has been left in the sun or a warm car at any point during its life cycle, these chemicals can leach into the water you are intending to drink.

As long as you know the condition of your tank water therefore and have it appropriately treated, our stored rainwater is safe to drink. Bermuda’s roof water catch is one of the few, genuinely sustainable things that we do here in Bermuda. Other countries even look to us as a pioneer in this respect.

If you care about your health, your family’s health and your environment, please stop spending your hard-earned money on single-use plastic water bottles. Invest in clean tanks, clean roofs, water filters and reusable bottles instead.

• Beyond Plastic Bermuda is a collaborative campaign created by the island’s environmental non-profit groups, working to increase community awareness and commitment to reducing Bermuda’s use of single-use plastics