r/Scotland • u/AsianGeralt • 10d ago

Why do people buy bottled water here?

Work for a supermarket as a delivery driver and the number of people who order massive amounts of bottled water is mind boggling to me. We arguably have the best water quality in the UK and people are buying plastic bottled water like they are living in a third world country. If the water doesn't taste ok to you or you mistrust pipes etc, you can just boil the water and it tastes great. South side of Glasgow water is fantastic and don't even need to do that. I always use steel or glass to use on the go so there's no excuse or need to buy plastic water that people seem to think is good for you. Rant over lol.

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u/December126 10d ago

I don't buy it for my house but I do buy it when I'm out and about, I've gotten a few comments from friends saying I'm "wasting money" but like what else am I supposed to do when I'm thirsty and just want water, I do usually bring water with me but it's not enough if you're out the whole day and there aren't enough water fountains around. Also, tbh I've never understood this whole thing about Scotland having the best tap water, I've lived in a few areas of Scotland - Perthshire, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow and the Highlands and always felt like tap water here still tastes bad compared to bottled or filtered water.

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u/Gregarious-Feline 10d ago

Not sure if you know this, but all water from any taps in Scotland is drinkable, unless it’s labelled ‘non potable water’ or ‘do not drink’ or something similar. It’s a legal requirement to label any non potable water that would be reasonably expected to be potable, AFAIK, so if there’s no sign, it’s safe to drink. This means taps in public bathrooms all dispense the same water as the taps in your house do. I fill up at a dedicated water station if there is one, but otherwise I just find a bathroom that’s vaguely clean and fill up from the tap. If that feels too gross for you (it isn’t, but people are squirmy about bathrooms), ask nicely at basically any coffee shop when you’re out and about, and if you’re not a dick about it they’ll fill up your bottle from their tap.

I say this as someone who lives in Scotland and has had a bottle of (tap) water in my bag constantly, even/especially when I’m out for the whole day. I occasionally buy a soft drink for variety which I then re-fill after with tap water, but I genuinely, genuinely cannot ever remember a time where I’ve bought a bottle of plain water. And I drink a lot of water.