Dubai: A Dubai-based advocate for green practices welcomed the results of a study that tap water is safer than bottled water of some famous brands due to the latter’s microplastic content which resonates with their campaign in the UAE.

Social enterprise Goumbook on Thursday lauded the report by BBC News that revealed that more than 90 per cent of the world’s most famous plastic bottled water contain tiny pieces of plastic.

The bottled water samples were taken from 19 locations in nine countries across 11 different brands.

On Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that it will review the potential risks of plastic in drinking water after the results of the study were released.

Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Goumbook founder and managing director, lauded BBC News for “finally shining the spotlight” on the perils of plastic to human health.

“What I really liked from the BBC article is they took the research results from the organisation and asked scientists to comment on the results and the methodology of the study thereby we can conclude that the results were accurate, which is really important,” Abella told Gulf News.

Goumbook launched the ‘Dropt It’ campaign in May 2016 to encourage residents to rethink single-use plastic. The campaign’s target is to urge residents to ditch plastic bottled water and switch to glass bottles or stainless steel containers for drinking.

Doing so creates an immediate and massive impact as each resident roughly consumes 450 plastic bottled water each year.

Abella said these issues are not local but are a global concern.

“According to Plastic Pollution Coalition, a US-based organisation, plastic is directly related to hormonal problems, infertility, and other health concerns. They also quoted a report that 93 per cent of Americans have BPA [bisphenol A] in their body and this BPA is directly linked to cardiovascular disease, breast, brain and prostate cancers, attention-related disorders, sexual infertility, and learning disorders,” she said.

Abella said residents have the option to install a filtration system at home and in their offices, so they can drink water straight from the tap. This is more economically viable as it saves money and residents know exactly what’s in the water they’re drinking.

The first step is to have their tap water tested so the appropriate filter can be installed. The cheapest filter for good quality tap water is Dh600 per tap and the average price is Dh900 to Dh1,000, she said.

If the tap water is poor in quality, a reverse osmosis system is needed that could cost Dh2,000. Such investment will pay off in the long run, Abella said.