Gen Z is ditching water in plastic bottles for delivery in expensive glass jugs
Life is plastic but that isn’t fantastic, according to Gen Z and millennials.
The younger generations — as well as scores of TikTok influencers of all ages — are subscribing to water delivery services that offer aqua in a glass bottle, which is then transported directly to their homes, not unlike what milkmen might do back in the day.
A New Jersey-based TikToker who goes by @duggychef posted a video in December about how water delivered in glass jugs is “the best investment.”
However, it isn’t cheap.
“We just got our delivery from Crystal Springs. We ordered five-gallon jugs of the Mountain Valley Spring water,” he said.
“Between shipping costs and dispenser rentals and bottle deposits, this costs us $165 a month in New Jersey,” he added.
Despite the cost, he said he “highly” recommends it.
Content creator Farryn — aka @jetsetfarryn — posted a video in April of 2022 talking about how she made her home free of plastic water bottles.
“Glass water delivery,” a voiceover in her video said before showing all the gallon-size and smaller fridge-friendly glass bottles she has in her home.
She displayed multiple large dispensers of Mountain Valley Spring water, as well as glass bottles she got from Amazon that she could fill and reuse.
“Even the small steps count! I’m not perfect but my [home] has been plastic water bottle-free for three months and never going back,” she said.
A phone representative from Mountain Valley Spring Water told The Post that delivery costs vary by region. A 12-pack of 1-liter glass bottles of spring water costs $29, according to the company’s website.
Yet another content creator named Denise, who goes by @tropicalseductions on TikTok, had glass water jugs from Alive Water delivered to her doorstep. Alive offers several types of delivery packages. For instance, someone can order four 2½-gallon jugs priced at $22 each or 12 jugs for $19 each, their website showed.
Mountain Valley Spring Water’s site indicates that its glass bottles are recyclable. However, with any of the providers, it’s unclear whether bottles are primarily or wholly self-recycled by the customer or if the company offers the option to return to pick them up for refills.
The Post reached out to Denise, @diggychef and Farryn for comment.
Those who aren’t having glass jugs delivered are trying another alternative: seeking out glass bottles when they go to the store.
A TikTok influencer who goes by @imjustwasim posted a video for his 169,600 followers in December talking about why he avoids plastic water bottles.
“So I personally avoid all plastic because when you heat plastic, it can leach into the water. So instead I’m always looking for glass,” he explained in a video that has more than 289,000 views.
He then pulled a bottle of Mountain Valley Spring Water off the shelf, declaring it was his favorite brand, and also suggested another option from a company called Acqua Panna.
While some commenters thanked him for his tips, others highlighted the expensive price of the products.
“Now tell us where to get the money,” one person said.
“Those are definitely some of the best, but as much water as I drink, they aren’t affordable at all,” another added.
The Post reached out to @imjustwasim for comment.
The U.S. isn’t the only place where people are requesting water deliveries.
A UK-based TikToker who goes by @evoluk posted a video of himself delivering glass jugs of water by bike to contribute “zero” carbon emissions.
While the price for glass-bottled water is certainly more expensive than getting free water from the tap — or a plastic bottle for a buck or two — people think the cost is well worth it. Plastic is a big contributor to global pollution.
“Today, we produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste every year,” according to the United Nations Environment Program.
Plastic also can be detrimental to one’s health. Nanoplastics can enter the bloodstream and potentially harm a person’s organs — and can even pass from a woman’s placenta to her unborn child.
The average 1-liter plastic bottle of water contains levels of “nanoplastics” that are 100 times higher than previously thought, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed study, the first to test for particles under 1 micrometer in length — or 1/70 the width of a human hair — found the liter bottles were loaded with an average of 240,000 plastic particles, according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tap water didn’t fare much better, either.
“We cannot definitively say that tap water is healthier,” the study’s co-author, Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist at Columbia University, told The Post.
“Tap water may contain other pollutants, such as heavy metals and black carbon, which may be less prevalent in bottled water. Checking your local water quality report would be a good idea,” Yan added.
