"We are what we drink. But how much good is it doing us or the planet? "
But while the summer may be boosting the fortunes of water companies, concerns are growing at the environmental costs of producing and transporting bottled water, not to mention what happens to the millions of bottles used - many of which end up on landfill sites.
According to the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, most containers for bottled water are made from non-degradable plastics and are not recycled. This results in an estimated 500,000 tons of plastic waste being dumped each year which can take hundreds of years to break down.
The cost is not only limited to the production process. More than 22 million tons of bottled water is transported around the world each year, with a resulting cost in carbon emissions.
