It seems that the days of bottled water have been counted. Recent news from around the world has seen a town ban bottled water and cities and music festivals promoting tap water.
Bundanoon, a town in New South Wales, Australia has decided to ban bottled water over concerns about its environmental impacts. It is believed that this is the first town in the world that has put a complete ban in place, but it might not be the last.
Less drastic, but equally important actions are being taken in the city of Venice, Italy. The famous city without roads has been struggling to deal with its trash collections on boats. Italians are known to drink a lot of bottled water and the discarded bottles contribute a huge amount of plastic waste. This has prompted the government to start actively promoting tap water. They say it has many advantages, including its strict quality control, low price and the fact that it’s delivered right to your tap! The city has now even branded the municipal tap water Acqua Veritas, water of truth. It is hoped that this campaign will increase Venetians’ use of tap water, and reduce the costs and environmental impact of plastic waste.
Similar actions were taken at this year’s Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee, USA. The organisers of this event promoted a stainless steel water bottle that visitors could refill at the water tap stations on the festival site. Because the stainless steel bottle is durable visitors used it throughout the festival and less plastic bottles were used, reducing waste and environmental impact of the festival. The organisers were hoping to raise awareness of water issues and to support the Global Water Challenge.
Of course the global market for bottled water is still growing, and there are more reasons behind this than just rational ones. The convenience and fashion statement of carrying a bottle water around, but also the brand image of certain ‘makes’ of water appeal to modern consumers. However, with growing environmental consciousness and the increased availability of reliable tap water and point of use treatment systems this might soon change!