Bottled Rage

Anti-bottled-water campaign kicks off in cities across U.S.

Posted at 4:51 PM on 10 Oct 2007

A Think Outside the Bottle campaign kicked off today, urging municipal governments to cut off bottled-water contracts and to press for greater disclosure of the source of bottled H2O. The campaign is spearheaded by Corporate Accountability International and joined by cities including Boston, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Portland, Ore., many of which held taste tests today to see if consumers can tell the difference between bottled and tap water. Chicago's mayor urged a 10-cent tax on bottled water, while Salt Lake City Mayor (and official Grist crush) Rocky Anderson told it like it is: "When I see people ... waste their money buying bottled water at the vending [machine] when it's standing right next to a water faucet, you really have to wonder at the utter stupidity and the responsibility sometimes of American consumers." Not to be outdone, the International Bottled Water Association issued a press release stating that the campaign is "based on factual errors and subjective viewpoints."

sources: Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Sacramento Bee, The Oregonian, PR Newswire
see also, in Grist: California may require labels on bottled water, Hatin' on plastic water bottles is all the rage

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (4 comments)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hooray for breaking the bottled water habit!

It's fantastic to see that cities and individuals around the country are recognizing the environmental and economic downfalls of bottled water.

Center for a New American Dream's Carbon Conscious Consumer campaign encourages people to take one small step each month that will lead to a big green change. In October, New American Dream challenges people to Break the Bottled Water Habit.

Check out the Carbon Conscious Consumer website at c3.newdream.org to learn more about the campaign, for more reasons why breaking the bottled water habit is a good thing, and to learn helpful alternatives to buying disposable bottles!

by hanaarifaey at 11:41 AM on 11 Oct 2007

Anti-Bottled Water Issue

It may be easy for the mayor of Salt Lake City to ridicule people who buy bottled water from a machine sitting next to a water fountain, but they probably have relatively cleaner water with less harsh chemicals added.

Try drinking water from fountains at schools and public areas in LA. It tastes VERY BAD - chemicals and some sort of sewage-ey / moldy yuck taste...no thanks. Sure, I will use a brita filter for tap water at home. But on the road, I gotta go with bottled water for now!

by BigRed at 11:53 PM on 11 Oct 2007

Bottled water

How can people complain about the cost of a gallon of gas and still guzzle bottled water that is much more costly? Since 40% of bottled water is merely tap water that has added minerals/been filtered, they are paying for something that flows from their tap for less than pennies. Perceived as healthier, bottled water is tested far less often than municipal water and it is required only to meet, not exceed the standards for tap water.

You can still avoid bottled water while on the road. BYOB - before leaving, fill up a glass bottle that will hold your supply for the day and bring your water with you.

by jlomif at 7:51 PM on 12 Oct 2007

down with bottled water

I purchased kleankanteens.com stainless water bottles and I use them all the time instead of plastic water bottles.
I heard that only 13% of plastic water bottles are recycled. If it's true the rest are in landfills to pollute the groundwater aquifiers.
I NH where I live a huge multi national water bottling company if muscleing it's way into the small town of Nottingham, NH. The bottling company wants to pump millions of gallons of ground water from the limited aquifier under the town that has taken thousands of years to accumulate. When they suck it dry they will leave. Some people in the town and surrounding towns have organized to stop the company from setting up a bottling plant.
Go to your local health food store and purchase a stainless water bottle to use and your tap water is probably better than most bottled water.
Bill perry from NH

by hondavx at 10:01 AM on 26 Jun 2008

The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?