Montreal's bottled water ban musings has industry's attention

A passing mention by Montreal's mayor that plastic-bottledwater is next on the city's environmental to-do list has caught theindustry's attention.

After moving to ban plastic bags by 2018, Mayor Denis Coderre hasn'tannounced any firm game plan on thebottleissue.

"But the debate is important,"Coderre said recently. "We need tohave that debate on plastic."

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The Canadian Beverage Association, which represents major players suchas Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co. and Nestle, has hired a lobbyist to deal withthe city.

"We don't think banning (bottled) water is a solution,'' saysMartin-Pierre Pelletier, suggesting a ban would only deprive residentsof choice.

Pelletier said the perception that people favour bottled water overthe tap variety isn't accurate, noting 91 per cent of those who drinkbottled water reach for the tap at home.

"Bottled water isn't in competition against tap water, it's incompetition against other beverages,"he said.

The industry wants the city to favour a recycling solution, estimatingit currently recovers about 70 per cent ofbottlesthat way.

Restrictions already in place

The plasticbottlesare made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET),which is completely recyclable and reused in making waterbottles,Pelletier said.

"Instead of banning a product that is healthy, useful, we believe weshould spend our time and efforts in building up public spacerecycling,'' he said.

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More than 80 Canadian towns and cities restrict the use of bottledwater, including Montreal. Most involve activities in municipalbuildings but in Toronto it extends to parks, facilities and civiccentres. Many post-secondary institutions also do the same.

In 2013, Concord, Mass., came out with a bylaw banning the sale ofone-litrebottlesof water or less in that community and is believedto be the first U.S. community to have done so.

In late 2014, San Francisco became the first large U.S. city to banthe sale of waterbottleson city property, with some exceptions suchas sporting events.

Worldwide problem

Coderre said his contemporaries abroad are grappling with the sameissues elsewhere.

"I don't have any problem if we can address the issue of recyclingthebottles,'' he said. "But I think clearly there is a problemworldwide."

Emma Lui, water campaigner for the Council of Canadians, says herorganization oppose bottled water for many reasons. These include theenvironmental impact of using, making and transporting the product aswell as the impact left on communities where the bottled water comesfrom.

In some instances, bottled water in the only option. Lui gives theexample of remote indigenous communities where clean water isn'tavailable.

"We understand that some in cases, bottled water is needed,"Lui said.

"But in places where there is clean drinking water and solid wastewater infrastructure, we don't feel bottled water is needed ornecessary."