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beverages packaged in plastic. In the following list, key facts are presented that bottled water professionals can use to rebut our critics on these issues. • IBWA and the bottled water industry are committed to working with government officials, civic leaders, and others to promote comprehensive environmental conservation and stewardship policies through efforts such as our Material Recovery Program to help create or improve community recycling programs with private/public sector partnerships. Bottled water companies have been taking action for years to reduce their environmental footprint, including bottle light-weighting, use of recycled PET plastic (known as rPET), and the use of hybrid trucks. • Bottled water provides consumers with a refreshing, healthy, safe product that keeps them hydrated—whether in a car, at home, on the job, or on the go. When government officials or activist groups discourage the consumption of water simply because it happens to be packaged in a container (as nearly all beverages are), they are not acting in the public’s best interest. • According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plastic bottled water containers make up only one-third of one percent (.33 percent) of all municipal waste in the United States. Bottled water is one of thousands of consumer products packaged in plastic. Any efforts to reduce the environmental impact of packaging must therefore focus on all consumer products. Because bottled water is probably the healthiest packaged beverage a person can buy, it doesn’t make sense to single out this product, especially when obesity, heart disease, and diabetes continue to grow as national health issues. • Bottled water containers are 100 percent recyclable, and bottled water companies have reduced the weight and density of their plastic bottles by 32 percent over eight years. (Because measurement of recycled material is calculated by weight, that’s the equivalent of removing one out of three bottles from the waste stream.) Plastic water bottles have the highest curbside recycling rate of any single product packaged in plastic: 30.9 percent. That’s still not good enough, but a substantial improvement over the 20 percent
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rate from several years ago. Many popular bottled water companies now also integrate strong recycling messages on their labels and in advertising. • Some critics incorrectly claim that harmful substances can leach from the plastic used in bottled water and other food and beverage containers. However, those containers must meet or exceed all U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements. The FDA has affirmatively determined that, when approved plastics are used as intended in food-contact applications, the nature and amount of substances that may migrate—if any—are safe and do not pose a health risk. • Bottled water companies are good stewards of the environment and the nation’s groundwater resources. According to a study by the Drinking Water Research Foundation (DWRF), based upon data from the U.S. Geological Survey, groundwater withdrawals for bottled water production represent only 0.020 percent (two one-hundredths of one percent) of the total U.S. groundwater withdrawals on an annual basis. • While bottled water and tap water are regulated differently, federal law requires FDA’s bottled water regulations to be as protective of the public health as EPA’s standards for tap water. (See Section 410 of the Federal, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.)

While this news won’t make our critics happy, the bottled water industry is indeed doing our part to lessen the effect of plastic on the environment—whether by promoting recycling or through packaging innovations such as light-weighting our containers—and to lessen the health risks that accompany an obese society. Water—whether tap or bottled—is a smart choice to meet hydration needs. When added to a healthy diet and reasonable exercise, drinking water can help bring the U.S. obesity epidemic to a gradual halt. The added convenience of packaged bottled water makes it even easier to drink more water more often, which should be encouraged.

DRINK UP!

IBWA’s Material Recovery Program can help create or improve community recycling programs with private/ public sector partnerships.

Bottled Water

August / September 2010 Bottled Water Reporter

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August / September 2010 Bottled Water Reporter