Editor,
I read with interest the article written by Meagan Robertson that appeared in the Sept. 17, edition of the Squamish Chief entitled, "Bottled water banned in municipal facilities."
In the piece, Ms. Robertson quotes numerous statements made by Squamish Climate Action Network member Brooke Carere about bottled water that have long been confirmed as false - mythology one typically finds on anti-bottled water activists' websites on the Internet.
For example, Health Canada regulations for bottled water must be as strong and protective of public health as provincial regulations for tap water.
However, Chief readers need not take my word for it, nor Ms. Carere's for that matter. When it comes to the quality, safety or regulation of bottled water, they can get the facts by simply visiting the Health Canada website.
Encorp Pacific reported that, as of December 2009, more than 75 per cent of plastic beverage containers, including bottled water, were diverted from landfill in British Columbia.
And, according to numerous studies on the subject, these containers account for less than one-fifth of 1 per cent of the waste stream. They also make up less than 15 per cent of abandoned materials found in public spaces.
That said, the Canadian beverage industry is investing heavily to establish public spaces recycling programs across Canada, which includes continuous public education related to recycling and littering.
Quebec is in the final year of a program that is diverting up to 97 per cent of recyclable materials from the waste stream. The first permanent program in North America was established by the industry in Manitoba this past spring.
Successful pilots have taken place in Ontario - and another is underway in Nova Scotia. The industry is poised to initiate a pilot in British Columbia.
Bottled water costs about 200 to 300 times more than tap water - not 2,000 times as much. However the comparison is irrelevant given that most Canadians don't view them as competing hydration alternatives.
According to independent research firm Probe Research, 70 per cent of Canadians drink both. They consume tap water at home and bottled water away from home for health and convenience.
Bottled water competes with other bottled beverages. It is not an alternative to tap water.
In closing, we trust that District of Squamish council will defer its decision to ban the sale of bottled water at its facilities so that local taxpayers, businesses and other interested parties are given the opportunity to express their views, affording councillors and staff a complete perspective on the matter before a final decision is rendered.
That is how healthy local democracies work in Canada.
John B. Challinor II
Director of corporate affairs, Nestlé Waters Canada
Guelph, Ontario
