11 December 2007

ZEIST – The Dutch use about 100 litres of water per person each day for drinking, showering, washing and flushing the toilet.

But in addition to that the average Dutch person uses another 3,300 litres in "virtual" water, in the form of water for the raw materials and consumer goods we use. This emerged on Tuesday from research by the University of Twente, commissioned by the World Nature Fund (WNF).

On the basis of the study, the WNF drew up a list of the top five products we use daily and the amount of water required to produce them.

A short-sleeved t-shirt for instance requires 2,700 litres of water to produce, from the stage of the cotton seed to the end product. 2,400 litres of water is needed to make a single bar of dark chocolate. More than 1,500 litres of water is needed to produce100 g of beef.

Much more water is needed for a cup coffee than what it takes to fill the Senseo reservoir. No less than 140 litres of water is needed for each cup. Even a slice of bread requires 40 litres.

"There are a great many food products that do not contain much water, but which require a lot of water during the growth and production process," the WNF says. That is why the WNF reports that 80 percent of Dutch water consumption takes place outside the country's borders. This makes the Netherlands a large user both in absolute and relative terms.

Worldwide the Netherlands comes in third with regard to "virtual" water consumption. The most important reason for this is that the Netherlands has to import a lot of raw materials and agricultural products because of its small area.

"But even if that aspect is taken into account, the Netherlands still scores very high." Per capita we use many products that come from "thirsty" crops like coffee, cotton and cacao.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]

Subject: Dutch news