Bottled Water Sales Exceed Cost of Providing Safe Water for All, UN Says
A new report says the growth of bottled water distracts from efforts to bring safe drinking water to the 2 billion people around the world who still lack it.
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The rapid and continuing growth of the $270 billion bottled water industry is undermining international development goals to provide universal access to safe drinking water, according to a new report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, a UN think tank.
The bottled water industry grew by 73% between 2010 and 2020 and is set to double again to $500 billion by 2030, according to the report released Thursday, which is based on an analysis of literature and data from 109 countries. It comes out the week before World Water Day (March 22) and the convening of a conference on water in New York City.