We thought it would be a good idea to link through some of the information / statstics that were shared during the discussion, so here goes:

Environmental Impact of Soft drink & sparkling water bottles:

• Although this statistic dates back to 2011, it’s still quite relevant to note that the average person in the UAE uses up to 450 plastic bottles a year [1]. Only a small fraction of this is recycled – the UAE has one of the highest per capita waste levels in the world, with 77% of our waste ending up in landfill [2]
• Globally, 90.5% of plastic waste has never been recycled [3].
• It’s awesome to see that great strides have been made in the recycling space recently, but a focus on waste reduction altogether is needed. Things like water filtration systems have been growing over the last few years to ditch still water bottles, and now with our service customers can also help people avoid having to buy sparkling water and sodas by the bottle.
• We’re proud to say that, since we launched in late 2017, our customers have collectively saved over 400,000 bottles from the bin to date. Our goal is to hit 1 million bottles saved by the end of 2020, and we’re well on track to achieving that.

Health Impact of Sodas vs Sparkling Water:

• The average can of sugary soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, and the average sports drink has 5 teaspoons – in comparison, a glass of sparkling water with a splash of juice can have as little as 1 teaspoon of sugar in it [4].
• Studies have shown that increased soft drink consumption has a direct impact on obesity and diabetes [5].
• (via the National) While the rates of diabetes and obesity in the UAE have decreased over the last 10 years, more work needs to be done. Recently the Ministry of Health estimated that close to 12% of the UAE’s population suffers from Diabetes and close to 28% of the population is considered obese [6].
• Sparkling water has been found to be far less acidic and erosive than soft drinks (in the order of magnitude of 100-times less erosive!) [7]
• In fact, the American Dental Association has reported that sparkling water has a similar effect on your teeth’s enamel as regular, non-carbonated water [8]!

We hope we did the topic justice in our discussion on the radio, and we hope the information and links we’ve shared help people make the right, informed choices. If you’re looking for a viable alternative to sugary sodas, switching to sparkling water (with or without a splash of fruit juice for flavour) is a great way to ditch the sugar while still enjoying a bit of fizz!

A big thanks to the team at Dubai Eye 103.8 for giving us the opportunity to go on air. We’re always on the lookout for platforms to share insights, so if you’ve got any suggestions on how we can reach more people please pop us a note via our ‘Contact Us’ page – we’d love to hear your thoughts!