Banning bottled water is bad policy
I am as environmentally aware as the next guy, but this latest trend to ban bottled water from public buildings is just plain dumb. This move will have very little impact on saving the environment, and may actually lead to people making unhealthy choices.
Toronto, where I live, is only the latest city to ride the wave of banning bottled water at city hall. In fact, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities passed a resolution earlier this month calling on cities and towns to phase out selling bottled water on municipal property. The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a similar resolution last year.
Why this decision? Federation president Jean Perrault, who is also the mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec, told the CBC that it has to do with saving energy, because a lot of energy is used in making those little plastic bottles. Also, "Buying a bottle of water costs approximately $2.50. The cost to produce water in the city? I can fill up 6,000 little bottles for the price of $2.50," Perrault added.
So far, 27 Canadian municipalities have phasing out bottled water sales. In the U.S., over 60 mayors have reportedly cancelled bottled water contracts.
The promotion of drinking tap water at home is a fine idea, but the problem with banning bottled water is a complete misunderstanding of how and why people buy the stuff. These pols seem to think that the choice for most people who drink bottled water is between bottled water and tap water. So if you ban the bottled stuff, folks will run to their taps.
But that’s not reality. Most who buy bottled water do so as a healthier alternative to Coke, energy drinks, or any number of other bottled or canned soft drinks. The issue is not about wanting water, but about wanting a beverage on the go or at someplace where tap water is not an option (like a fast food restaurant).
Personally, I hate the idea of buying bottled water. It’s just too expensive for what it is. But recently I found myself in a building where tap water meant using the sink in the public washroom (yuck!). So I looked in the vending machine, and my options were bottled water, Coke, Diet Coke, and sugared iced tea. Given those choices, I opted for the water as the healthiest choice.
If water had not been available, I would have just bought a Diet Coke, costing me just as much and yet ingesting something much less healthy. In fact, many people would opt for sugared soft drinks if water were not an option. That’s a great way to beat back rising obesity rates!
And the truth is, if bottled water is banned, but other soft drinks are still available, not much energy will be saved in terms of reducing the number of bottles and cans used and needing to be recycled.
So unless politicians want to talk about banning all bottled beverages – something I don’t advocate – just shut up about banning bottled water.
I generally agree with your sentiment; however, the issue with bottled water is often the much larger carbon footprint created by bottling spring water at its source. If we’re talking bottled purified water then it’s more than likely purified tap water that’s been bottled somewhat locally and if that’s the case, it’s no different than the bottled soft drink or juice or sports drink – ban them all or leave the water alone and provide individuals with the healthier option of water. The problem comes when the bottled water choice is spring water bottled at the source. While parts of North America , Ontario and New England specifically, are blessed with many bubbly springs from which water is bottled much of the bottled water consumers choose to drink come from France, Switzerland, and even Fiji. The carbon footprint created simply by putting these bottles onto a fuel guzzling jet is enormous as compared to the carbon footprint created by the purified bottled water and shamefully enormous when compared to the nearly non-existent footprint created by just turning on the tap for a drink. As with any other consumer choice, there are good ones and bad ones that can be made, and to ban all bottled water is truly an uninformed decision being made in the name of political expediency…and each of us knows how wise those types of decisions turn out to be. An educated consumer is the best consumer; make your drink choices accordingly.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia, which is draught-ridden, the other issue is the amount of water wasted just to create one bottle of 'purified' water, which is actually quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteI don't often buy bottled water, but when I do, I keep the bottles and refill them with tap water (Brita style) which usually tastes better than the original 'purified' water did anyway.
And when I said 'draught' I obviously meant 'drought'
ReplyDelete