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The Plastic Bottle Question

- Speech by Arthur von Wiesenberger at Berkeley Springs 2008

EVERY SPRING THE BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY ENJOYS AN OUTPOURING OF MEDIA INTEREST AND ATTENTION. MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, AND TELEVISION GEAR UP FOR THE WARMER MONTHS AND CONSUMER INTEREST IN ISSUES OF HYDRATION, TASTE AND THE AVAILABILITY OF BOTTLED WATER. BUT THIS PAST SPRING WAS DIFFERENT?  VERY DIFFERENT. BOTTLED WATER WAS UNDER ATTACK.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF BOTTLES OF WATER BECAME THE BATTLE CRY OF THE MEDIA. BOTTLED WATER BECAME THE POSTER CHILD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INCORRECTNESS.

IT BEGAN AT THE HIGH PROFILE RESTAURANT, CHEZ PANISSE, IN BERKELEY WHERE OWNER ALICE WATERS, KNOWN AS THE GODMOTHER OF SUSTAINABILITY, BANNED BOTTLED WATER IN HER RESTAURANT JUST ONE YEAR AGO. SHE WENT FROM SELLING 25,000 BOTTLES A YEAR TO SERVING FILTERED STILL AND CARBONATED TAP WATER IN GLASS CARAFES FOR FREE. OTHER RESTAURANTS JOINED IN ON THE BAN FROM INCANTO IN SAN FRANCISCO, GRACE IN LOS ANGELES TO SAN DOMINIGO IN NEW YORK.

LIKE A SNOWBALL IT STARTED GATHERING MOMENTUM. ACTIVIST GROUPS LIKE CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY INTERNATIONAL, THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP, FOOD AND WATER WATCH, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, THE SIERRA CLUB, AND CERTAIN RELIGIOUS GROUPS JOINED IN THE CACOPHONY OF CRITICISM AIMED AT BOTTLED WATER.

ACROSS THE BAY FROM ALICE WATERS, SAN FRANCISCO'S MAYOR GAVIN NEWSON ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER BANNING CITY DEPARTMENTS FROM BUYING BOTTLED WATER.

AT THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS THE NATION'S MAYORS PASSED A RESOLUTION LOOKING INTO THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF BOTTLED WATER ON MUNICIPALITIES.

IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, THE CITY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD NO LONGER HAVE BOTTLED WATER AVAILABLE AT CITY EVENTS. CITIES IN CANADA, ITALY, AND ENGLAND JOINED IN. IN PARIS, THE HEART OF GASTRONOMY AND BOTTLED WATER; MAYOR BERTRAND DELANO NOW SERVES ONLY TAP WATER AT OFFICIAL EVENTS.

CHICAGO'S MAYOR JOINED IN BY CALLING FOR A 5-CENT PER BOTTLE SIN TAX ON BOTTLED WATER.

BANNING BOTTLED WATER IS ONE THING ? BUT TAXING IT WAS GETTING PEOPLE REALLY MAD.

JESSE JACKSON AND TWO COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS LED A BOSTON-STYLE TEA PARTY BY DUMPING BOTTLED WATER INTO THE CHICAGO RIVER? AS A SYMBOLIC GESTURE AGAINST THE TAX.

THE INTERNATIONAL BOTTLED WATER ASSOCIATION SUED THE CITY OF CHICAGO LAST MONTH AND IBWA PRESIDENT, JOE DOSS SAID THAT THE TAX ?...IS BOTH UNLAWFUL AND IN VIOLATION OF THE STATE'S CONSTITUTION AND WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE COST OF THIS HEALTHY, SAFE PRODUCT?

BUT THE QUESTION IS, WHY BOTTLED WATER? WHAT ABOUT SOFT DRINKS, JUICES, AND ALL OTHER PACKAGED FOODS? HOW ABOUT THE EXTENSIVE PACKAGING ON TOYS, CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND THOSE EVER CHALLENGING WRAPPINGS FOR CDS and DVDS?

BOTTLED WATER CONTAINERS MAKE UP LESS THAN ONE-THIRD OF ONE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL WASTE STREAM IN THE UNITED STATES. BOTTLED WATER CONTAINERS ARE 100% RECYCLABLE.

IT SEEMS THAT BOTTLED WATER, ON THE SURFACE CAN BE EASILY REPLACED, IN SOME PEOPLES MINDS WITH TAP WATER. BUT BOTTLED WATER AND TAP WATER ARE VERY DIFFERENT THEY ARE SOURCED DIFFERENTLY, THEY ARE PROCESSED DIFFERENTLY, THEY TASTE DIFFERENT AND THEY ARE DELIVERED TO THE CUSTOMER DIFFERENTLY. THEY ARE ALSO MONITORED IN THE US BY TWO DIFFERENT FEDERAL AGENCIES; THE FDA FOR BOTTLED WATER AND THE EPA FOR MUNICIPAL WATER.

FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS HERE IN BERKELEY SPRINGS PROFESSIONAL TASTERS, EDUCATORS, MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AND EVERYDAY CONSUMERS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT NOT ALL WATERS ARE CREATED ARE EQUALLY. SOME ARE SWEET, OTHERS ARE CRISP AND A FEW MAY EVEN TASTE LIKE A WET BAND-AID.  BERKELEY SPRINGS CELEBRATES WATER AND HIGHLIGHTS THE DIFFERENCES.

TO BAN THE ABILITY FOR CONSUMERS TO PURCHASE BEVERAGES OF THEIR CHOICE IS LIKE PROHIBITION ALL OVER AGAIN. BUT THIS TIME PROHIBITING A BENIGN BEVERAGE WHICH IS CALORIE FREE AND RECOMMENDED BY EVERY MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL IN THE WORLD. IF THE BAN CONTINUES TO GROW WILL WE SEE "SPEAKEASYS" POP UP ON DARK ALLEYS IN OUR CITIES. WILL THE PRICE OF PROHIBITED BOTTLED WATER SOAR? WILL THERE BY H20 BOOTLEGGERS? WILL ORGANIZED CRIME BECOME BOTTLED WATER RACKETEERS? WITH RELIGIOUS GROUPS ON THE BOTTLED WATER BANDWAGON IS THE INQUISITION FAR BEHIND?

WHERE IT WILL ALL END IS ANYONE'S GUESS. BUT I THINK A FIGHT IS BREWING ON THE HORIZON.. AS SENATOR BARRY GOLDWATER ONCE SAID, "A man from the west will fight over three things: water, women and gold, and usually in that order."

July 1, 2008                                                                                                                                                                  Back To The Top

The Safety of PET Bottles
By Adam Voiland

Most bottled water comes packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) plastic bottles. The widespread use of these bottles, some 85 percent of which never get recycled, according to the Container Recycling Institute, has raised ire among environmentalists. But do PET bottles pose a health risk? At this point, the evidence to suggest they might appears to be limited and preliminary.

Most health concerns about chemicals in plastic bottles relate to bisphenol A. That hormone-mimicking chemical, which can disturb the body's endocrine system, has been found to leach from polycarbonate plastic, which is used to make certain sturdy, reusable water bottles (such as those that hikers often carry), baby bottles, and water coolers. But PET bottles don't contain bisphenol A, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), a trade association for the PET plastic industry. Scientific research on the potential for PET bottles to leach harmful substance is sparse.

If anything, it's the reuse of PET bottles by some consumers that may pose a problem, since the bottles' narrow necks can make them difficult to wash. "The bigger risk to consumers is probably bacterial contamination," says Rolf Halden, a drinking water expert and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For people with healthy immune systems and reasonably good washing skills, however, even this risk of microbial contamination remains slight. And some people, of course, never reuse the bottles. The EPA, in a document entitled "Bottled Water Basics," says: "Drinking water (both bottled and tap) can reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk."

That's worth keeping in mind as advocates and detractors of bottled water drag the subject of health into a debate that's primarily about the environment. In a recent conversation on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," for example, Rocky Anderson, the mayor of Salt Lake City and a critic of bottled waters, pointed out environmental and economic concerns with bottled water and then added, "[A]nother problem, by the way, [is that] disposable plastic water bottles can contain antimony, which is a potentially toxic trace element with chemical properties similar to arsenic."

Toxic trace elements in water would frighten anybody, so U.S. News & World Report decided to look more carefully at this claim.

According to NAPCOR, the plastic in PET bottles is inert and does not leach harmful materials into its contents—either when a beverage is stored unopened, or when bottles are refilled or frozen.

Not everyone buys that line, however. William Shotyk, a geochemistry professor at the University of Heidelberg, has published two studies that show that antimony, a potentially toxic trace element, leaches from PET bottles over time. This doesn't mean there is a clear health risk, Shotyk says. But, he adds, "I would say it's something to think about."

"The amount of antimony in natural water that is not contaminated is extremely low," he says. "The amount of antimony in bottled waters is hundreds, sometimes thousands, of times higher." Still, Shotyk found it at levels no higher than two parts per billion (ppb), and EPA drinking water regulations permit antimony to occur at up to six ppb.

A fact sheet on the NAPCOR Web site states: "Antimony oxide's very low toxicity combined with very low occurrence means very, very low risk. Its use in PET does not endanger workers, consumers, or the environment."

Source: US News & World Report

June 2008                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Back To The Top

REFLECTIONS

Bottled Water and The Environment: Annual Bottled Water Production accounts for less than 2/100 of a percent (0.02 percent) of the total ground water withdrawn in the United States each year. Convenience-size water bottles account for less than one-third of one percent of all waste produced in the US in 2005. Source: Drinking Water Research Foundation and The International Bottled Water Association.

When bottled water first hit store shelves in the United States, it seemed to be a niche beverage category, with high-end brands like Evian and Perrier. Now the category is the second largest behind CSDs and its continued growth is at the expense of soft drinks. “Some consumers are moving away from regular soft drinks and they’re either moving to diets, or they might not be stopping at diets and just be moving on right to water. Source: Beverage Marketing Corporation

US consumers drank 569.5 million more gallons of bottled water in 2007, compared to the year before, growing 6.4 percent. Per capita consumption of bottled water has risen every year since 1976, growing by at least one gallon annually and it’s almost doubled just since 1998. It’s interesting to note that while per capita consumption of bottled water has risen, carbonated soft drinks per caps have dropped. Source: Beverage Marketing Corporation

May 2008                                                                                                                                                                            Back To The Top

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV: The largest water-tasting competition in the world took place in Berkeley Springs, WV on Saturday February 23, 2008. “More than 200 people watched at the Country Inn in Berkeley Springs on Saturday as 10 media judges spent many hours tasting more than 120 waters from 19 states and nine foreign countries from New Zealand and Romania to Macedonia and the Philippines. Arthur von Wiesenberger, author and founder of BottledWaterWeb.com once again served as the event’s watermaster. ‘This is the longest running and largest water tasting event in the world,’ he said. ‘The granddaddy of them all.’”

Great Blue, a brand owned by the U S Bottling Company with corporate offices in Baltimore, Maryland, won the gold medal for “Best Tasting Purified Bottled Water” in the world. Great Blue is bottled in U S Bottling’s plant located in Federalsburg, MD. The source of the water is from the town of Federalsburg, MD. The water goes thru an intense seven step purification process which includes micron filters, ultraviolet light treatment, carbon filters and ozonation to assure a clean and consistent taste. You can order Great Blue at www.bottledwaterstore.com/greatblue.htm.

March 2008                                                                                                                                                                                                             Back To The Top

                                                                                    Bottlers Go Green

Now you can help reduce carbon emissions by simply buying a bottle of water. The world's fastest growing, premier bottled water brand is kicking-off a comprehensive carbon reduction and land use and renewable energy offset program that will deliver one of the first consumer products that truly goes beyond carbon neutral and leaves a negative carbon footprint, setting a new standard for the bottled water industry. FIJI Water's far-reaching initiative aims to "green" nearly every step in the product life-cycle so that each sale of bottled water results in a net-reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. The results will drastically mitigate FIJI Water's impact on global climate change and establishes FIJI Water as a leader in the beverage industry on sustainable growth.

Over the next three years, the company plans to reduce the amount of energy required for their products through a number of efforts, including using wind power to increase the energy efficiency of its bottling facility in Fiji, and replacing bio-diesel to replace traditional diesel in transportation, and a reduction in packaging.

By partnering with Conservation International, a leading conservation organization, they will be permanently protecting the Sovi Basin, the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Fiji. Located on the Fiji Island of Viti Levu, it covers 50,000 acres of land and lies within the Polynesia/Micronesia biodiversity hotspot -- one of 34 such hotspots around the world. Fiji water can be found at www.bottledwaterstore.com/fiji.htm

Zephyrhills® Brand Natural Spring Water, is committed to providing  customers with healthful beverages. But sometimes making a difference isn't just about what they put into the bottle. Sometimes, it is what they take out.

The lightest ½ liter bottle ever produced*, the new, 100% recyclable Zephyrhills Eco-Shape™ bottle is not only less impactful on the environment, it’s purposely designed to be easy to carry and hold. And because it’s lighter, it requires less energy to make – resulting in a reduction of CO2 emissions.

The new Eco-Shape™ bottle:

• Is made with 30% less plastic than the average half-liter bottle

• Features a new label that's 30% smaller

• Is 100% recyclable

• Is flexible so it's easier to crush for recycling

• Can be found at www.bottledwaterstore.com/zephyrhills.htm

February 2008                                                                                                                                                                      Back To The Top

Winter Hydration Tips

Presented here are a few winter hydration tips to keep you, your family and friends at your peak during the winter holiday season: 

* Take a bottle of water with you when skiing, ice-skating or shoveling snow; water will help you stay warm, it helps regulate your body temperature; 

* Replace high-calorie drinks such as eggnog or alcohol with a glass of sparkling water with a twist OR cut the calories by mixing a wine spritzer – half wine, half sparkling water; 

* Serve a refreshing holiday punch by combining sparkling water with fruit punch and fruit garnish; 

* Provide bottled water for guests and designated drivers as an alternative to alcohol when entertaining. 

January 2008                                                                                                                                                  Back to the Top                                                                                         

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