By Karen Middleton
Americans are paying some $11.1 billion annually for a substance that they could draw out of their taps for pennies.
Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful and the city of Athens Water Department are sponsoring the film, “Tapped,” in commemoration of Celebrate America Recycles Day. The film is being offered free of charge at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Cinemagic Theatre, 1702 S. Jefferson St. in Athens.
“This is an important documentary exposing the truth about the bottled water industry,” said Lynne Hart, KALB director.
Hart said the Water Department is paying for the rental of the movie.
Producer-director Stephanie Soechtig and co-director and writer-editor Jason Lindsey, both seasoned in documentaries, were inspired to produce “Tapped,” after the discovery of the so-called “North Pacific Garbage Patch,” a section of ocean twice the size of Texas, which has been described as a “plastic stew.”
At the time the producers interviewed the ship’s captain who discovered the garbage patch, there was 46 times more plastic than plankton in the area. Much of the debris washes up on Kamillo Beach in Hawaii.
“This film follows the plastic water bottle from its manufacturing all the way through,” said Hart. “Many of these bottles go into the ocean. The film shows the impact of discarded plastic on the environment.”
Hart said the film also deals with the question of which is healthier, bottled water or tap water.
“Even people who are aware of the negative effects, still purchase bottled water,” said Hart. “They will be surprised by the facts. What we want to do is for people to see the movie and make up their own minds, make informed decisions.
“If you continue to purchase bottled water, know the effects on the environment and, at least, recycle.”
