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Bottled
Water vs. Tap Water
Thoughts from the International Bottled Water Association:
In a recent article on banning bottled water,
Filters Fast presented both sides of the debate on whether or not
bottled water should be banned in colleges and universities, listing
five reasons for and against a bottled water ban. While Filters Fast
advocates filtering tap water over purchasing bottled water, we believe
that everyone should have the chance to express their views. Here, Tom
Lauria, Vice President of Communications for the International Bottled
Water Association
(IBWA),
refutes the argument that bottled water should be banned. On
behalf of the IBWA, Lauria responds to each of the five points given on
both sides of the debate, below.
Protect
the Environment
According to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plastic bottled water
containers make-up one-third of one percent of the waste
stream. This is a tiny sliver next to the thousands of other
products packaged in plastic. Since bottled water is probably
the
healthiest packaged beverage a person can buy, does it even make sense
to single-out bottled water in an age when obesity, heart disease and
diabetes are growing as national health issues? Bottled water
manufacturers have reduced the weight and density of their plastic
bottles by 32 percent over 8 years. That's the equivalent of
removing one out of three bottles from the waste
stream. Plastic
water bottles have the highest recycle rate of any single product
packaged in plastic - 30.9%. That's still far too low but an
improvement over the 20% rate from several years ago. As for
the
two Pacific gyres, the Atlantic gyre and the Indian ocean gyre --
please don't imply this is a bottled water issue; there are thousands
of types of waste involved and the largest countries on Earth involved
in its cause and clean-up.
Reduce
Campus Beverage Costs
Buying
bottled water by the case at a super-market or big-box store is how
many consumers purchase this product. At Costco, a nationally
known brand of spring water costs 13.4 cents per bottle. According to
the Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), the cost of bottled water
nationwide averaged $1.29 per gallon. Please direct me to a gas station
that sells gasoline at that price. But even the comparison is invalid:
people don't drink gasoline. Can you name a single packaged beverage
that costs LESS than tap water? Neither natural spring or purified
water comes out of a tap. People are entitled to spend their funds as
they see fit. Some buy "Two-Buck Chuck" wine at Trader Joe's
while others spend hundreds of dollars for a single bottle of a fine
Bordeaux. In 2007, only the beer industry spent over $1 billion in
advertising. Soft drinks spent over $600 million. In comparison,
bottled water companies spent $52 million. I think
anti-bottled
water activists find retailer vendors, such as an airport concession
stand, that charge $2.00 or more per bottle and they erroneously
multiple that price. Meanwhile, consumers like me are buying it in
cases, not individually.
Bolster
the University's Image
Intolerance
as a character trait seldom bolsters any person's and any school's
reputation. Especially when what is not being tolerated is the healthy,
safe, convenient consumption of refreshing bottled water.
Bottled
Water is No Better than Tap
Here's
a few facts relevant to this segment of comments. The EPA estimate for
the percentage of purified bottled water from municipal sources is 40%,
not 20% as stated in your debate. Single-serve plastic water bottles
are made of PET plastic, not BPA. According to prominent
environmentalist Peter H. Gleick, from the Pacific Institute, "PET is
widely considered to be one of the safest forms of plastic for food
packaging and few credible studies have ever claimed to find a risk of
leeching." IBWA strongly disagrees that tap water is better
regulated than bottled water. Those two products are indeed regulated
differently. However, federal law requires FDA's bottled water
regulations to be as protective of the public health as EPA's standards
for tap water. Bottled water, as a food product, comes in a sealed,
sanitary container after processing while tap water moves through many
miles of pipes after leaving the plant. They have to be regulated
differently. And if tap water met every consumer's satisfaction, there
certainly wouldn't be a market for water filters of any kind.
As a
matter of law, the FDA has a zero-tolerance for E-coli. Ten years ago,
IBWA's Code of Practice for members banned any presence of
E-coli. In addition to FDA and state regulations, IBWA's
member
companies are annually inspected by third-party experts from UL and NSF
to ensure bottled water products remain safe.
Water
is a Basic Human Right
"Water
is already free," states someone is this debate. Then what the heck is
this quarterly water bill from the city doing in my mail?
Water
is not free; it is heavily subsidized by local, state and federal
government because of its importance to society. Nonetheless, some
consumers want access to natural spring water, disinfected only with
natural ozonation, which preserves the delicate balance of minerals and
thus gives the water a brisk, refreshing taste. Others want purified
water. This consumer reasoning should not come as a surprise to filter
companies. Besides, some consumers with compromised immune
systems, or with cancer and other illnesses, can't drink tap water.
I
end with a quote from this debate: "Those that fear water contaminants
in city supplies, no longer have an excuse on a school campus where
water fountains contain filters. Several schools have implemented
effective reverse osmosis filtration systems, allowing students to fill
reusable bottles at water fountains." Harvard paid for their
R/O
filters and will keep on paying just to methodically change and
maintain the fountains' R/O filters. Then there's the cost of Harvard's
annual water bill. I am familiar with a high-rise condo tower
in
northern Virginia with 322 units whose water bill in 2009 was over
$148,000. I can't even imagine what Harvard's is! I repeat,
water
is not free.
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