The next time you’re relaxing in a posh hotel or an ‘eco-resort’, the question you need to ask yourself is “where does all the shit go?”. This is inevitably the hurdle where all but the truly cleanest and greenest fall.
I don’t just mean what you flush down the toilet, but all the waste from the kitchen, the leftover packaging, the little bottles of half-used shampoo and soap wrappers, the cigarette ends and chewing gum and bottle caps. Where does it all go?
This was one of the first questions I asked myself upon discovering that my water is drawn from an underground river / well. Because every night, people are burning their rubbish. Not just their organic waste, but plastics, tin cans, probably batteries. And all those nasty chemicals not only waft up my nose and sting my eyes, but also leach down into the soil, or in my case, the sand. There’s a solid waste management program here, but old habits die hard, and not many people seem to use of it.
Boiling, or the use of a steripen, can rid the water of biological contaminants (did I mention the shit? It mostly goes into septic tanks. But not always. And not all of them are sealed) but it doesn’t get rid of the heavy metals or the plastic residues.
And what happens after heavy rain, when the water table rises? What happens to the waste that doesn’t flow into a septic tank? Clue: the sea is only 300m away. What about the local people who can’t afford to buy distilled water at P30 (less than AUD$1) for a 30 litre bottle? That doesn’t sound like much to some of us, but it’s beyond the means of many. What harmful chemicals are they imbibing? What harmful chemicals are we all washing in?
I’d trust the town’s piped water supply for brushing my teeth, but this ground water stings my eyes in the shower. I’m thinking of asking a friend for a water testing kit. Just out of curiosity, to find out whether it’s safe to drink and cook with after boiling. But I’m a little bit afraid to find out what’s actually in it, because then I’m going to worry about all the kids in the neighbourhood growing up with it. On the other hand, having some evidence of contamination might be a great way to draw attention to the waste management problems that clearly need addressing.
Do I really want to know? A big part of me says no: ignorance is bliss! The other part of me (the applied scientist bit) says yes: knowledge is empowering! The real question is, when I find out where all the shit goes, will I accept the responsibility of acting on that knowledge, and will my actions make any difference?
In the mean time, if you find yourself in a similar situation and wondering whether to buy distilled (purified) or spring water, buy distilled. The distillation process removes all biological and chemical residues from the water, or more accurately, removes the water from the residues.
over the hills 
Where does all that stuff go? Downhill and out into a large body of water depending on your locale.
Out of my 12 visit to the Philippines I only had gotten sick on one trip. That was my first trip there coming from the desert where the water was reddish rust and smelled like rotten eggs. So, when I saw the clear water that I was told was ground water – I forgot all my training and drunk it. That is never going to happen again if I can help it.
If you are scared of undesirable stuff being in you drinking – use bottle water. It is usually the safest way to go. HOWEVER in the Philippines you cannot depend on the bottle water labels. Everything is “Mineral” water to the companies there. I discover this on a visit to two different water bottling plants (Luzon and Bicol region). The majority of the bottle water there is public source water that is “sometimes” filter or filter spring water.
Protect yourself and carry a cotton handkerchief or bandana, two water bottles with the filters in them and some purification tablets. If you can’t tolerate the iodine taste add a PA Plus tablet. When I am trekking in the jungles I always carry and use my “LifeStraw.”
Be safe and take care