Can of “Palm Springs” brand spring water. This vintage can of Florida spring water likely dates to the early 1960s and was a sign of things to come. Although this can was probably sold as a souvenir or novelty, selling bottled water has become a multibillion dollar industry and is the source of much debate. In 1973 the plastic drink bottle was patented in the United States (commonly referred to as PET or polyethylene terephthalate plastic). These new bottles were much cheaper to produce than glass and by the year 2000 bottled water was commonplace. In 2018, it is estimated that 13.85 billion gallons of bottled water was sold in the United States. While convenient to use, tons of plastic water bottles end up in landfills each year and there is controversy over private companies selling water in areas where water supplies are threatened by over pumping (SRM2009-02-461).
