In his new book Unbottled:  The Fight Against Plastic Water and for Water Justice, Daniel Jaffee digs into the $300 billion market of packaged water. He tells A Public Affair host Nate Carlin that “one in five people in the US–20% of the population–now gets all of its plain drinking water from a bottle. They shun the tap completely for drinking.” He says that number is up from 13% less than a decade ago. He joins the program to talk about the inequity in clean water access, the pollution caused by single use plastic bottles, and the privatization of public water systems around the world.

Daniel Jaffee is an environmental and rural sociologist and Associate Professor of Sociology at Portland State University. His research examines conflicts over water privatization and commodification; the social, environmental, and economic impacts of bottled and packaged water; and social movements around bottled water and water justice in both the global North and South. His previous book is Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival.

Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash

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