Water bottles are one of the top ten most littered single-use plastic items in the US, with 15.3 billion gallons of bottled water sold across the country in 2021.

But why do Americans buy so much bottled water, when we've all got taps at home? Statista surveyed 545 US adults on the topic and ranked the most common reasons in the chart below.

While the leading reasons were the ease of taking bottled water on the go and a better taste, the surveyed revealed something concerning: one in five Americans surveyed don't trust the water quality in their home enough to drink from the tap.

What's more, 21 percent of respondents reported that the drinking water in their house isn't suitable for consumption.

Between unsafe tap water at home and the risks of microplastics in bottled water, the state of drinking water in the US is pretty hard to swallow.

Via Statista.

[Image credit: Julia Avamotive]