5. What Goes Around

Will Self ponders the origins of our insatiable thirst for bottled waters.

How did mineral water become such a valuable commodity and is it a luxury the world can no longer afford?

Will's a confirmed fan of mineral water - yet he's puzzled by its enduring appeal when H2O flows freely from the tap.

He investigates the history of five different mineral waters and the spa towns from which they spring.

Will Self explores the environmental impact of the bottled water industry. He is transported to the island paradise of Fiji - whose number one export is water and looks at whether it's possible to justify shipping bottled water around the globe.

Closer to home, he speaks to Nestlé, the owners of Buxton Water, about their own environmental record.

Producer: Laurence Grissell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2021.

(Photo credit: Luther Self)