Is it better to buy bottled sparkling water or make it at home? 60 Million Consumers is formal

Plastic bottles are becoming less and less popular with consumers. Sparkling water lovers then turn to carbonated water makers. Is this really a good solution?

Bottled water is becoming less and less popular. This unpopularity is notably due to plastic particles: a recent study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences in January 2024 reported 240,000 plastic particles per liter, contained on average in a bottle of water. This disinterest in buying bottles in supermarkets was accentuated by the contaminated Nestlé water scandal. Many people today prefer to turn to tap water.

But what about sparkling water lovers? The latter are forced to invest in gasifiers which dissolve edible carbon dioxide in water to create bubbles. The more pressure you emit, the more sparkling the water is. 60 Million Consumers looked into the matter by testing seven machines to see if they were a good alternative to bottled water.

Hervé Cabibbo, deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine, interviewed by France Info, assured that the result was "completely satisfactory" in terms of taste, provided you have quality tap water. This may, in fact, vary depending on the region. He particularly highlights the advantage of being able to choose the bubble level according to individual preferences. This method is therefore more practical than buying packs of sparkling water each time. There is also an ecological scope: the leader in gasifiers, SodaStream, claims on its site that its solutions would save “around 28 disposable bottles in one month”. The brand assured that “by 2025, SodaStream will eliminate 67 billion single-use plastic bottles from our planet.”

Furthermore, this system would also be more economical. According to 60 million consumers, this amounts to “0.22 euros at best per liter of sparkling water”, or three to four times cheaper than in supermarkets for brands like Perrier or Badoit. Obviously, you have to take into account the cost of the machine (between 60 and 120 euros) and the renewal of the containers.

However, it is necessary to take certain precautions. Manufacturers sometimes specify in the instructions that the water produced must be consumed within two days. You should also remember to change the containers according to the instructions. “Clearly, you have to buy new ones every two years, because over time, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles deteriorate,” indicated Hervé Cabibbo. According to him, the best system remains that with glass bottles, which are even more ecological.