Bottled water ban buffoonery

Thank you, Toronto City Hall, for finally getting bottled water out of vending machines and helping to make my point that doing so is just a silly and meaningless gesture.

In fact, a pro-ban city councilor revealed what is really behind all this when he told the Toronto Star last Friday, “The city has made a statement.”

That’s right – this is all about making a statement, not about changing behaviors or helping the environment.

And this is a growing trend in municipalities across North America.

Here is how the Star described the situation: “In one vending machine, Aquafina water has been replaced by Aquafina Plus, a vitamin-enhanced flavoured water. That is acceptable because the city resolution only affects unflavoured water.”

So there ya go. The ban will not decrease the number of plastic bottles. Worse, the move takes away the choice of filtered water, replacing it with a more processed product. Brilliant!

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.