AMERICANS drank more than 8.3 million gallons of bottled water last year. Although all that Evian and Calistoga is marketed as part of a healthy lifestyle, those plastic bottles are not so healthy for the environment. Here are five reasons to reach for local tap water instead of the bottled stuff.

Landfills Even though plastic can be recycled, millions of bottles wind up in landfills.

Privatization Privatization of water supplies is not healthy for anyone except water companies.

Plastic Recyclable or not, the production of petroleum-based plastic isn't making the earth a greener place.

Regulation In spite of claims of bottled water's purity, municipal water systems often undergo more rigorous testing and monitoring than bottled water supplies.

Transportation Drinking water is good for you, but all those water delivery trucks pumping exhaust into the air are not.

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