bottles

In Manhattan, almost everyone carries water bottles (CambelBak is common) or they refill their store bought water bottles which are carried in bottle pockets on their knapsacks.

This might be true for simple products like water bottles, but does not hold true in all cases.

Columbia University (at least some schools there) give out water bottles and have special water fountains which have an overhead spout that fills water bottles and has a LED counter.

If true, and you need 2000kcal a day, you're going to need 140 bottles per 4 weeks (~12 cases).

Expand it - a healthy person walks into a hospital (to change the water bottles on the water cooler).

Yes, but doesn't the plastic in the disposable bottles also contain the same risk, among other issues?

Since the proposed roadways were going to use recycled polyethylene pop bottles it shouldn't be a problem.

Why spend energy producing and transporting heavy water and plastic bottles with this pre-mixed Soylent?

The other had what looked like the remains of a campfire, maybe a few bottles.

High pressure helium bottles are pressurized at 5500 psi, stored inside in LOX tank.

That probably won't happen to the bottles, since they can make them sterile.

It's actually amazing that anybody would voluntarily put themselves through the hassle of dealing with bottles when there's this always-on supply ready to go.

People buying plastic disposable bottles with water were not doing something "fair" or consciously getting them for the bottle.