Thanks for the clarification – good to see you and everyone engaging. I’m not a big supporter of the anti-bottled water campaign as I think it is too much of an easy populist target that misses the point of the true impact on the environment. Bottled water is easy because bottles can be seen everywhere. I don’t see the activists targeting the use of plastic elsewhere – food containers, bags, clothing, shoes etc.

And, like you said, plastic is made from oil by-products. If they want real change then they should focus on the oil industry cutting oil and not a by-product. (I should have remembered the by-product argument as I knew about it from a previous life.)

That said, I do think that the bottled water industry need to get stronger on plastic recycling. There is no consistency when it comes to what type of recycling is supported. Some companies like no regulation (self-regulation instead), others like the California model (with changes) etc. I do think that the only way we will address the recycling challenge is on a federal level as each system is different and not offered everywhere. Last time I checked (2 years ago) plastic bottles could only be recycled in about 50% of the US. I know companies like NWNA, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have done some interesting things on recycling and set some solid goals. However, the problem is bigger than a single player and the industry really need to find a common workable solution that makes it simple and easy to recycle.

I think a life-cycle analysis might show that plastic bottles aren’t the worst offenders with the worst impact. However, it’s important from a consumer perspective as this is what they have influence over. They carry that bottle in their hands and feel the guilt. Telling them to not throw it away when they have limited recycling options will only make them feel more guilt – and harm the industry.

And, of course, bottled water still has a worse impact than tap water. Yes there is waste 20-30% because of a ‘broken’ system and inefficient agriculture uses way too much water (compared to bottled water that uses so little compared to othe rusers), but the system is (mostly) pretty good in the US and the impact is limited. Last point on this one – I do think that tap water is too cheap in the US. People waste water and industries such as agriculture waste because they have no incentive to cut their use. People need to realize that it is not a natural resource that they can use and abuse but that they have to show some level of responsibility towards usage and pay for it – and, of course, bottled water companies should pay more for the water they use as well.

I also think that the issue with bottled water are two issues really – the container and the product inside it. Yes the container is made of plastic but it uses less plastic than any other beverage container – like soda. And it people really want to live without plastic they should target the big users and not one that is just a populist target. The product inside is a healthy alternative to soda and the issue is less about health than whether people should pay for what is in the container. If they don’t want to pay for it – use a tumbler.

Last issue. I don’t think that the anti-bottled water activists have come up with really solid alternatives. You can’t remove the water option from people – especially not in a country where so many people drink soda and hello obesity. And drinks like juices are just too expensive compared to soda and water. Public places where people can easily drink water? No thank you. At home or a container please. Yes I carry my reusable bottle with me but when I forget that? I aim for a drink at the shop and sometimes that is bottled water.

The underlying challenges are: Firstly, find an alternative to all beverage containers and target everyone using plastic, not just bottled water. Secondly, let everyone (individuals and companies) pay more for water so that people can realize that water has a social value – the current system just does not reflect this.

Any Tom, I thank you for your time to comment in a constructive way – I appreciate that. I’m not hiding behind the Angry African name, I just have to find a way to split my two blog by name as well.

Henk

Now about the UN. Nowhere in its recent report is there factual documentation or even a footnote about their “conclusions” about oil. In a report that documents every detail, the statement about oil made in the summary just sits there, undocumented. Fact is, plastic is made from oil by-products, the gunk leftover after making gasoline. So rather than just disposing of it, the leftover oil is turned into useful plastic, which can in turn be recycled.

By the way, IBWA is working hard to address current recycling rates. We know 30.9% is still too low. We are also light-weighting our plastic bottles and recently confirmed our bottled water products have a very small environmental footprint compared to other packaged beverages.

That Nat Geo/Ambi Pur collaboration would be funny if they weren’t serious. Anything for a dollar.