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Bottled Water Industry Pushes Back Against Drive To Phase Their Product Out Of National Parks

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A week after a campaign was mounted to encourage the National Park Service to phase bottled water out of the parks, the bottled water industry pushed back a bit, saying to do so would encourage visitors to turn to unhealthy alternatives to quench their thirsts.

In a release Tuesday the International Bottled Water Association said "(E)fforts to eliminate or reduce access to bottled water in our national parks will force consumers to choose less healthy drink options that have more packaging, more additives (e.g., sugar, caffeine), and greater environmental impacts than bottled water."

According to the group, research shows that in the absence of bottled water products, "63 percent of people will choose soda or another sugared drink – not tap water."

"We expect the same consumer response if access to bottled water is restricted in our national parks," said the group in the release. "And such a response will therefore not likely reduce the presence of plastic bottles within the recycling streams of our national parks."

Corporate Accountability International, a non-profit that works to encourage cleaner environmental habits, last week sent representatives to Yosemite National Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Independence Hall National Historical Park, and Mount Rainier National Park with over-sized postcards encouraging park officials to commit to phasing out bottled water.

Kristin Urquiza, who oversees the "Outside the Bottle and Public Works Compaign" for Corporate Accountability International, says more parks need to follow Zion, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Grand Canyon national parks in phasing out the sale of disposable water bottles.

To get more parks to phase-out bottled water, the non-profit has been working with stakeholders in and out of national parks, including concessionaires, "to help give Park Service (superintendents) the support they need to really move forward on implementing a 'bottled-water-free' policy in their parks," she said.

While none of the four parks has given "firm commitments" to moving forward with a ban, said Ms. Urquiza, talks have been ongoing to examine the feasibility of such a ban.

"The real exciting feedback that we've been getting is that water in the parks is an incredibly important issue for superintendents," she said. "They want to figure out how to minimize the amount of waste, to promote public water."

But the water bottlers say Americans want bottled water. "Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons, including its refreshing taste, reliable quality, zero calories and additives, and convenience," the organization said. "In fact, since 1998, approximately 73 percent of the growth in bottled water consumption has come from people switching from carbonated soft drinks, juices, and milk to bottled water.

"Banning or restricting access to bottled water in the marketplace, including within national parks, directly impacts the right of people to choose the healthiest beverage on the shelf. And for many, bottled water is a critical alternative to other packaged beverages, which are often less healthy. Bottled water must therefore be available wherever packaged beverages are sold."

The group does support ongoing efforts to "further increase the availability of clean, safe drinking water in national parks, cities, towns, on college campuses, in the work place, and at home should be encouraged. This, in fact, complements the National Park Services’ own ongoing healthy foods initiative. Bottle refilling stations and water fountains throughout national parks and communities are an excellent opportunity to help promote healthy hydration. But access to bottled water is also a key component of this effort and should not be discouraged, prohibited, or overlooked when discussing water’s role in a healthier lifestyle."

Comments

ecbuck...30% of the trash are from plastic water bottles at Grand Canyon (3000 tons total/887 tons just water bottles) sorry not sure how many do not make it to trash bin or are left on the trail.


David - thanks for some additional stats.

As to ec's inquiry about the actual number of plastic bottles improperly disposed of in the depths of the Grand Canyon, if someone actually went to the trouble to figure that out, he'd probably pan the effort as a waste of time :-)

The key point: dealing with any such litter is a waste of time and resources that could be better used elsewhere. During my 40+ years of hiking a lot of trails in a lot of parks, I don't think I've run across any reusable water bottles tossed carelessly aside, but I've sure picked up a bunch of the cheap plastic ones.

As others have commented, every little bit helps - and every litter bit hurts. Some of our regular commenters sure begrudge tax dollars spent in parks, but they are quick to belittle any efforts to save a few bucks - and that includes those that could be saved if there were fewer throw-away bottles lying around.


A timely editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer was posted yesterday on the subject:

http://articles.philly.com/2013-04-03/news/38251682_1_tap-water-bottled-water-water-bottlers


Re: the Philly editorial cited above - well said!


Is ec from LaVerkin, Utah, by any chance? (Google LaVerkin and see what you find.)


/887 tons just water bottles

An empty 16 oz water botle weights about .3 ounces. That means there are 53 per pound. 2000 pounds ( a ton) would be 106,000. 887 tons would be 94 million water bottles. With about 4.2 million visitors to the Grand Canyon that would be 22.5 water bottles per visitor deposited in Grand Canyon trash containers.

And you wonder why I ask for substantiation of your claims.

Jim - what do you think of those "stats"? You have to learn not to believe everything on face value.


Lee, never been to leVerkin but looks like a very nice place.


Ec - as to "stats" - after working at the Grand Canyon, I'd agree folks there can get mighty thirsty :-)

It's possible to debate numbers back and forth indefinitely, so I'll stand by what I said earlier is a key point: "Dealing with any such litter is a waste of time and resources that could be better used elsewhere."


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