Single-use plastic water bottles are a thing of the past in vending machines and the cafeteria at Vanier College.

Vanier College, an English-language public college located in Montreal, Quebec, has a student population of over 6,000 students.

To celebrate, the college is holding its first-ever Water Week celebration on campus this week.

“The timing was right,” Richard Dugas, the college’s sustainability officer, said of the disposable water-bottle ban the college adopted in late December.

An information booth set up this week in the Student Mall offers students information aimed at raising awareness about the links between global sustainability and water, as well as zero in on the problem of plastics. Students can also take part in a water taste test.

“Water bottle exist because of a manufactured need,” Dugas said. “…our municipal water Read the rest of this entry »

Could New York be finally joining the green urban ranks of eco-impressive cities like San Francisco and Chicago?

Just last week, Governor Paterson, inspired by Illinois’ identical move, announced plans to phase out the purchase of pesky plastic bottled water—and their larger water cooler counterparts—from state-owned agencies over the next six months.

His reasoning was this:

Taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to ensure that we have clean drinking water supplies. If we are going to make such significant investments, we should reap the benefits and use that water. Our efforts will serve as an example for local governments, businesses and residents to follow. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently stumbled across an article created by our friends at the highly controversial International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) encouraging consumers to increase consumption of bottled water in 2012.  Essentially encouraging consumers to create a New Year’s resolution to drink more bottled water.

I read the article and immediately chuckled.

The article, entitled “5 Reasons to Make Bottled Water Part of Your Healthy Lifestyle in 2012″, makes bold, unsubstantiated claims that are far beyond the truth of what bottled water truly is. The IBWA wants consumers to think bottled water is some magical substance, when in reality we’ve seen time and time again that bottled water is not a healthy, sustainable solution for hydration.

True to our mission here at Ban the Bottle, I thought it fitting to address each of their 5 statements with 5 reasons why we should not be drinking bottled water.

1. IBWA claims bottled water is safe and convenient. Ironically, the bottled water industry is less regulated than plain old tap water.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled drinking water, which is classified as a “food”. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water. Amazingly, the EPA guidelines for municipal water are stricter than the FDA restrictions for bottled drinking water! You might buy bottled drinking water that is acceptable to the FDA but is not acceptable for use as ordinary bathroom tap water.

Is bottled water truly safer than tap water? The most recent tests by the National Resources Defense Council tested 103 bottled waters and showed the following:

• Nearly one in five tested waters contained, in at least one sample, more bacteria than allowed under microbiological-purity “guidelines”
• Four waters (4 percent) violated the generally weak federal bottled water standards (two for excessive fluoride and two for excessive coliform bacteria
• In eight cases arsenic was found in at least one test at a level of potential health concern.*

There is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap water.

Drinking tap water more convenient than using bottled water. Consumers have a plethora of reusable water bottles they can purchase and tote throughout the day, helping to reduce bottled water waste. Additionally, the ability to stay hydrated in public places is becoming easier with the advent of hydration station units and drinking water fountains.

* http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-bottled-water-industry-2011-10?op=1#ixzz1j5yysSru

2. IBWA claims bottled water tastes better, but blind taste tests prove otherwise.

In taste tests, tap water consistently ranks at or above the Read the rest of this entry »

What a great way to start the year!

Denise Richards has recently made the pledge to ban the bottle  in her home and daily life.  She posted an entry on blog in December and we are interested in hearing if she was able to influence others (family and friends) to ban the bottle too!

Banning bottled water from your everyday life is an easy resolution and can have such an enormous impact – especially when people spread the message to others. Did you?

[via Ecorazzi]

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.’” -Cavett Robert

2012 is almost here. Which no doubt means that many people will be spending a moment or two thinking about how 2011 went and what they want to change for 2012. That’s right its resolution time.

I recently had an interesting conversation about New Year’s resolutions with a family member. She said that instead of making one limiting resolution to lose weight or clean the house more, she chooses a word to act as her theme for the year. Last year, she chose the word “Fun”. Now, that’s not to say that she only does “fun” things but she made a commitment to make the things she did have to, whether it was losing weight or cleaning the house, more fun. Instead of dreading something, she approached all her challenges, activities, etc with an attitude of “I’m going to make this FUN”.

That made me start to think about what would be a good word or mantra for 2012 that relates to banning the bottle. And I realized that most people that would take the time to read this blog are probably already banning the bottle in their everyday lives, so a good word for all us would be “Share”. Share your passion. Share the message. Share your reusable bottles (only if they are clean). Share your resources. Share your knowledge.

Without being overbearing, or becoming  the crazy Ban the Bottle Person that people hide from, start bringing awareness to others in everything you do. If you already have your family and friends on the Ban the Bottle wagon, work on your co-workers, businesses that you patronize, friends of your friends, family of your friends, friends of your family (I could go on and on…). Small, subtle, constant reminders of how important Ban the Bottle can be.

So here’s to 2012 – the year we shared our message.

Grand Canyon National Park recently announced it will shelve its proposed plans to eliminate the sale and use of bottled water at its park stores. Recent news reveals the park’s director was fearful of consequences related to the ban and its largest beverage vendor, Coca-Cola.

Plastics News has the low-down in a recent article:

A just-released email says the director of the National Park Service feared there would be “consequences” from Coca-Cola Co. if NPS went ahead with a proposed ban on the sale of single-use plastic water bottles at the Grand Canyon.

“While I applaud the intent, there are going to be consequences, since Coke is a major sponsor of our recycling efforts,” NPS director Jon Jarvis wrote in a Nov. 22, 2010 email to the regional director of the Intermountain Region of the NPS. “Let’s talk about this before [the Grand Canyon] pulls the plug.”

Three days earlier, Neil Mulholland, the National Park Foundation’s president and CEO, had sent an email to Jarvis saying he had been receiving “strong negative feedback from the beverage industry” regarding the potential ban.

But a Coke spokeswoman said the company never suggested it would reduce or withdraw its support to NPF if the bottled water ban, which was originally scheduled to go into effect this past Jan. 1, became a reality.

“Absolutely not,” said Susan Stribling, director of communications for Coca-Cola Co. North America, which sells bottled water under the Dasani brand.

The NPS emails were released Dec. 2 by Public Employees for Read the rest of this entry »

Join Treehugger at 3p EST today and learn more about our obsessions with bottled water during a unique discussion with author and activist Peter Gleick. Click here to join the discussion.

BookHugger presents Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water by Peter Gleick. Readers can order a discounted copy today and join in a discussion with distinguished urban scholar Peter Gleick on November 17, 2011 at 3pm Eastern.

TreeHugger’s Water Correspondent, Jaymi Heimbuch, has already reviewed Bottled and Sold. Whether you’ve read the book, the review, or just have an opinion on bottled water, Thursday’s live chat will give you the opportunity to ask questions and take part in a discussion on the issue.

And don’t forget, Bottled and Sold is available at a 30% discount to TreeHugger readers. Simply visit Island Press via this link and use the coupon code 2HUG.

This conversation is part of a series of live chats with authors, all part of our BookHugger Book Club. We’ll announce the next book in our series soon, so you can have time to read it before our next chat.

Join the Discussion Now »

University of Toronto students, hot on the heels of the country’s largest university banning the sale of bottled water, recently showed increasing concern for convenient, healthy ways to stay hydrated on campus.

We’ve shown you a variety of ways other colleges and universities have increased accessibility to clean drinking water through the installation of hydration stations or even a drinking water fountain renaissance.

Officially carried out this fall, the ban ensures that water is no longer sold at campus cafés, libraries, and other U of T buildings.

Danai Macridi / Tufts Daily

However, many students are responding negatively to the ban. They argue that there was no adequate transition period that enabled them to adjust to an absence of bottled water on campus.

Some students criticized U of T for not installing enough water fountains and water refilling stations to accommodate the lack of bottled water.

Third-year student Supriya Joshi spoke against the inefficiency of the university’s decision. “You have to ensure the necessary accommodations before you get rid of water. It’s like writing an essay before you do the research,” she said.

“I feel that it’s a decision that was made as a feel-good project because it has made no difference. There’s not less plastic, there’s just less water,” she continued.

Joshi described the inconvenience of travelling to off-campus locations for bottled water and resorting to bottled juices from the university’s vending machines when thirsty.

Coincidentally, she wasn’t alone in her disapproval of the Read the rest of this entry »