WTVO/WQRF - We get it for free when we turn on the tap.  But these days a lot of us just feel better about getting our water out of a bottle.  In 2005 the United States consumed about 7 and a half billion gallons of bottled water.  It's a number that grows by about 10% every year.  All those plastic water bottles aren't healthy for the environment.  Americans buy 28 billion water bottles a year.  The bad news is 80% end up in landfills.

Tim Hunter works at a recycling center and says he thinks people don't return the bottles because it just doesn't pay.  "Most folks tend to look at just the dollar figure,” says Hunter.  “What can I get for the plastics.  If the markets not there, they're not getting a whole lot there's not a lot of incentive for them to recycle other than it's the right thing to do."

While it may be the right thing to do, some people think storing the empty bottles requires too much space.  Others don't have recycling available.

"Bottled water cost more than gasoline if you figure out the price per gallon, says Hunter.  “We have a filter at our house, I'll drink that. Tap water as long as water is safe.  Bottled water doesn't do anything for me so I just don't drink it."

The Pacific Institute says manufacturing, storing, and transporting the bottles uses about 17 million barrels of oil a year.  Considering all the negative environmental factors that come with a single bottle of water, why buy it by the bottle when you can get it from the tap?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency strictly regulates tap water.  In fact, the FDA says safety guidelines for bottled water are significantly less strict than for tap water.  The Texas Environmental Protection Agency says there's no clear cut evidence proving one is healthier than the other.

In the end it's up to the consumer to decide if the bottle is really worth it.  The United States is largest market for bottled water.  In 2006 more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water were sold.