Bottled Water Environmental Quick Facts

The bottled water industry has been the target of misguided and confusing attacks by environmental activists, a handful of civic leaders, and media who have presented misinformation and subjective criticism as facts. The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) provides the facts below about the bottled water industry's outstanding record of environmental stewardship and responsible use of resources, the industry's demonstrated support of recycling, bottled water regulation and safety, and the role of bottled water as a consumer beverage-of-choice.

General

• Bottled water is a safe, healthy, convenient, food product that consumers use because of its refreshing taste and because it is a good way for them to stay hydrated. Any efforts or actions that discourage consumer use of this beneficial product are not in the public interest.
• The members of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) remain strongly committed to working with legislators, regulators, civic leaders, and others to promote comprehensive environmental conservation and stewardship policies in the United States.
• Bottled water is just one of hundreds of thousands of packaged products used by consumers every day. Any efforts to improve plastic container recycling rates, reduce the environmental impact of product packaging, or manage our natural resources must focus on all consumer goods - not just bottled water.
• During the past several years, bottled water companies, like many others in the food and beverage industry, have been looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint. For example, the bottled water industry is using lighter-weight plastics for its containers (the amount of resin needed has been reduced by almost 40 percent over five years) and is utilizing more fuel efficient means of transporting the product to market.

Bottled Water and Tap Water

• The "bottled water versus tap water" debate being raised by certain activist groups only causes confusion among consumers and could discourage them from drinking a very healthy and safe beverage product. In fact, most consumers drink both bottled water and tap water depending on the circumstances.
• Consumers are not uniformly replacing tap water with bottled water. They are also drinking juices, soft drinks, teas and other beverages. In many cases, consumers choose bottled water to moderate or eliminate calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors, colors, alcohol and other ingredients from their diet.
• Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state agencies. These stringent standards help ensure bottled water's consistent safety, quality and good taste. By law, FDA bottled water standards must be at least as stringent and protective of the public health as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tap water regulations.

Packaging and Recycling

• Bottled water containers are 100% recyclable and IBWA encourages all consumers to recycle all plastic containers through whatever system their local municipality has in place.
• The bottled water industry is considered one of the "original recyclers." Most of the larger plastic bottles found on home and office bottled water coolers can be sanitized and re-used dozens of times before they are removed from the marketplace and recycled.
• Despite their popularity, PET water bottles account for a very small part of the waste stream. These bottles accounted for less than one-third of one percent of all waste produced in the US in 2005.
• Plastic beverage bottles are among the most recycled packaging in the United States and beverage companies continue to reduce the amount of plastic used in their packaging. Moreover, recycling rates for plastic containers continue to increase.
• IBWA is a founding member of the National Recycling Partnership (NRP), a coalition that brings together leading food industry associations that are committed to increasing recycling rates in the United States. NRP is working on two major initiatives to maximize the potential of recycling programs nationwide - a national campaign to reinvigorate consumers to recycle and a pilot program in four communities that will use new and innovative approaches to increase recycling.
• Any efforts to reduce the4 environmental impact of packaging must focus on all consumer goods and not target bottled water only.

Groundwater Resource Management

• The bottled water industry uses minimal amounts of ground water to produce this important consumer product-and does so with great efficiency. A study conducted by the Drinking Water Research Foundation found that annual bottled water production accounts for less than 2/100 of a percent (0.02%) of the total ground water withdrawn in the United States each year.
• Even though it is a small ground water user, the bottled water industry has been instrumental in encouraging states to develop comprehensive, science-based ground water management and sustainability policies and laws, which consider all users and treat all users equitably.

Disaster Relief

• Bottled water is always there when you need it. Clean, safe water is a critical need for citizens and first responders immediately following a natural disaster or other catastrophic event. Unfortunately, the availability of water from public water systems is often compromised in the aftermath of such an event. During these times, bottled water is one of the best solutions to deliver clean safe drinking water quickly into affected areas.
• The bottled water industry has always been at the forefront of relief efforts during natural disasters and other catastrophic events. Throughout the years, bottled water companies have immediately responded to the need for clean water after natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Andrew, Charlie, and Katrina, or the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. In addition, bottled water companies donate their products to thousands of charitable organizations and events every year for non-disaster use.