22 August 2007
waste not, want not
"The bottled water industry [ @ US $400 billion: Nestle, Danone, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola] is 30% larger than the pharmaceutical industry & is one of the fastest growing and least regulated industries in the world...Worldwide bottled water consumption increased 250% (58 billion litres in 1994 to 144 billion in 2002) largely as result of successful marketing i.e. “America’s most affordable status symbol.” (1)
The hidden cost?
1) "Fossil fuels are used for packaging, for transporting bottles and running both the industry and recycling plants. Polyethylene terepthalate (PET), derived from crude oil, is commonly used for water bottles. More than 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to supply the annual American demand for bottled water. As stated by the Earth Policy Institute in 2006, this is “enough to fuel around 100,000 U.S. cars for a year.” Globally, this figure totals 2.7 million tons of plastic used for this market each year. (2) Only 15% are recycled; it takes more than 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to biodegrade." (3)
2)"Water quality from bottled water has also raised concern. A recent study has proven PET bottles increase antimony levels in bottled water. Antimony is an element with potentially toxic effects to humans. To validate their results, the researchers who did this study compared the source water to the same water purchased
in PET bottles after 3 months of storage. Antimony levels were significantly higher. In addition, Sb2O3, antimony oxide, was used as a catalyst in PET manufacturing, a suspected carcinogen." (2)
“Due to stricter regulations and daily testing, tap water
[is] the safest and cheapest alternative to bottled water.”--City of Toronto study
3) "UN estimates if only half of $100 billion spent annually on bottled water were invested in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world would have access to clean drinking water. Clean drinking water is already out of reach for over one billion people in the world. With water increasingly being sold as private commodity, the lives of impoverished people in water-scarce regions are increasingly in the hands of corporations. As bottled water is sold to the upper and middle classes, support for public drinking water infrastructure begins to trickle away. Each time a bottle of water is purchased, transnational corporations, whose thirst for profit outweighs concern for public welfare, grow stronger." (1)
“Kitchener Utilities’ water is the most economical choice.
It costs just 1 cent to fill ten 500 ml bottles with tap water.”
-- Kitchener Utilities brochure, “It’s up to you,” Aug 07
Sources: (1) Ashley Walters, “Tapped resources: the dirty truth about bottled water,” Briarpatch Magazine 5 Aug 07; (2) Silvie Fojtik, “ Citizens fight Nestlé over town water,” posted June 18, 2007 tohttp://www.insidethebottle.org/canada-citizens-fight-nestle-over-town-water(3)CCPA Monitor/CALM reprinted in OSSTF bulletin.
The hidden cost?
1) "Fossil fuels are used for packaging, for transporting bottles and running both the industry and recycling plants. Polyethylene terepthalate (PET), derived from crude oil, is commonly used for water bottles. More than 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to supply the annual American demand for bottled water. As stated by the Earth Policy Institute in 2006, this is “enough to fuel around 100,000 U.S. cars for a year.” Globally, this figure totals 2.7 million tons of plastic used for this market each year. (2) Only 15% are recycled; it takes more than 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to biodegrade." (3)
“Some people think that bottled water is safer than municipal tap water,
but there is no evidence to support this.”--Health Canada
“Some people think that bottled water is safer than municipal tap water,
but there is no evidence to support this.”--Health Canada
2)"Water quality from bottled water has also raised concern. A recent study has proven PET bottles increase antimony levels in bottled water. Antimony is an element with potentially toxic effects to humans. To validate their results, the researchers who did this study compared the source water to the same water purchased
in PET bottles after 3 months of storage. Antimony levels were significantly higher. In addition, Sb2O3, antimony oxide, was used as a catalyst in PET manufacturing, a suspected carcinogen." (2)
“Due to stricter regulations and daily testing, tap water
[is] the safest and cheapest alternative to bottled water.”--City of Toronto study
3) "UN estimates if only half of $100 billion spent annually on bottled water were invested in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world would have access to clean drinking water. Clean drinking water is already out of reach for over one billion people in the world. With water increasingly being sold as private commodity, the lives of impoverished people in water-scarce regions are increasingly in the hands of corporations. As bottled water is sold to the upper and middle classes, support for public drinking water infrastructure begins to trickle away. Each time a bottle of water is purchased, transnational corporations, whose thirst for profit outweighs concern for public welfare, grow stronger." (1)
“Kitchener Utilities’ water is the most economical choice.
It costs just 1 cent to fill ten 500 ml bottles with tap water.”
-- Kitchener Utilities brochure, “It’s up to you,” Aug 07
Sources: (1) Ashley Walters, “Tapped resources: the dirty truth about bottled water,” Briarpatch Magazine 5 Aug 07; (2) Silvie Fojtik, “ Citizens fight Nestlé over town water,” posted June 18, 2007 tohttp://www.insidethebottle.org/canada-citizens-fight-nestle-over-town-water(3)CCPA Monitor/CALM reprinted in OSSTF bulletin.
Labels: water
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