This paper analyzes the documentary Tapped, which exposes critical economic and environmental problems within the U.S. bottled water industry. The paper summarizes the film's core findings — including extreme consumer demand, rapid depletion of water resources, the absence of meaningful industry regulation, and the mismanagement of plastic waste — before examining their broader effects. It discusses how leading companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Nestlé extract millions of gallons of water with little oversight or taxation, and how improper disposal of plastic bottles introduces toxins that threaten both human health and the natural environment.
The paper demonstrates source integration, weaving documentary evidence with external research (World Watch, World Wide Fund for Nature) to support and extend the film's claims. Rather than simply retelling the documentary, the author corroborates its arguments with independently cited data, a foundational skill in academic writing at any level.
The paper opens with a brief framing introduction, followed by a four-point video summary organized around the documentary's key themes: demand, resource depletion, lack of regulation, and waste. The final section shifts to an effects-focused analysis, expanding on each theme with external sources. The works-cited list uses MLA-style formatting. The structure is straightforward and suitable for an undergraduate response or short analytical essay.
This paper analyzes the documentary Tapped, which details the current situation in the bottled water industry in the United States. The first section summarizes the documentary's key findings, and the second examines the economic and environmental issues it raises in greater depth.
Tapped exposes the hard reality of economic survival — and excess — in the water industry. First, it portrays a scenario of intense demand for bottled drinking water in the United States. The film suggests that bottled water companies earn enormous revenues each year; at one point, Pepsi is shown hauling over 400,000 gallons per day, illustrating the scale of demand in the U.S. market.
Second, the documentary highlights the alarming depletion of water as a natural resource. Fryeburg, Maine, is presented as one community enduring a water shortage caused by Coca-Cola's continued extraction from an already deficient local supply. The film reports that 35 U.S. states are already experiencing drought conditions and predicts that by 2030 only one-third of the world's population will have access to clean drinking water.
Third, Tapped argues that the bottled water industry operates largely without regulation. The absence of mandatory testing is presented as a clear sign of inadequate checks and balances from relevant authorities. The film shows Nestlé as one company that quietly acquires land to tap local springs — including one in Fryeburg, Maine — and hauls truckloads of water away without paying taxes.
Finally, the documentary reveals that major bottled water companies lack meaningful policies for disposing of used packaging materials. This is perhaps the film's most alarming revelation. Plastic waste from the thriving bottled water industry introduces toxins into the environment that are harmful to human health and wildlife alike. Residents of Corpus Christi are shown suffering health problems linked to toxins produced by nearby factories, and plastic bottles dumped in the Pacific Ocean are associated with various neurological disorders.
Despite the widespread availability of clean tap water, demand for bottled drinking water in the United States remains the highest in the world. According to World Watch, the United States was the largest consumer of bottled water in 2011, and the market was projected to grow by 6.7%. Many Americans prefer bottled water to tap water regardless of cost — a preference that accelerates the depletion of water resources and generates a host of environmental concerns.
This demand has triggered aggressive water extraction by major bottling companies. The leading water miners in the United States include Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nestlé Waters, Groupe Danone, and Suntory Water Group. These companies extract millions of gallons from increasingly strained sources. Wenonah Hauter, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, stated that "when the flows and levels of a region's springs, wetlands, lakes, streams and rivers are materially affected from extraction for bottling, the entire local and even regional environment suffers" (Snyder). These beverage companies continue to draw from local water supplies despite the objections of affected communities.
Bottled water companies have also faced persistent allegations of environmental pollution. Plastic bottles are frequently disposed of improperly, worsening the already serious problem of waste management. A report by the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that over 1.5 million tons of plastic are used in the bottled water industry every year (All About Water). The report further notes that the energy required to produce these bottles places additional strain on limited fossil fuel reserves. Moreover, the bottles cannot safely be reused, as doing so can compromise the quality of the water they contain.
All About Water. "The Effects of Bottled Water on the Environment." 2004. www.allaboutwater.org. 22 March 2012 <http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html>.
Snyder, Shannyn. "Resource Demands of Bottled Water." 2011. www.thewaterproject.org. 22 March 2012 <
World Watch. "Bottled Water Demand May Be Declining." 2011. www.worldwatch.org. 21 March 2012 <
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