International Bottled Water Association | MEDIA RELEASE | March 20, 2014
IBWA Supports World Water Day 2014
Alexandria, VA – The members of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) are proud to support World Water Day 2014 and recognize the importance of a safe and sustainable water supply. The theme for this year’s World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22, is “Water and Energy.” This United Nations sponsored event is held every year to focus attention on the importance of fresh water, and to advocate the sustainable management of fresh water resources.
A Healthy and Responsible Choice
Water is the energy for life and IBWA supports the smart and responsible management of the world’s water resources. Cooperation on effective groundwater management requires a multijurisdictional approach that involves many parties, including bottled water companies, scientists, consumers, environmentalists, and regulators.
Promoting greater consumption of water from all sources, including bottled water, will support the efforts of communities striving for a healthier lifestyle. And, for those who want to eliminate or moderate calories, sugar, caffeine, artificial flavors or colors, and other ingredients from their diet, selecting water is the right option – whether from the tap or in a bottle. “Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons, including its refreshing taste, reliable quality, zero calories and additives, and convenience,” says Chris Hogan, IBWA’s vice president of communications. “In fact, between 1998 and 2011, approximately 73 percent of the growth in bottled water consumption came from people switching from carbonated soft drinks, juices, and milk to bottled water.”
A Responsible Environmental Advocate
The bottled water industry recognizes the importance of protecting the quantity and quality of the world’s water. Bottled water companies that produce groundwater products (e.g., spring water, artesian water) are entirely dependent upon a safe, fresh supply of constantly recharged and replenished water for their livelihood. In addition, IBWA supports strong municipal water systems since bottled water companies that produce purified water often use municipal water sources. Once the municipal source water enters a bottled water plant, several processes, including reverse osmosis, deionization and filtration, are employed to ensure that it meets the purified water standard established by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (23rd Revision). Bottled water companies responsibly manage and monitor their source waters and oversee bottled water production in an environmentally focused process.
The bottled water industry continues to demonstrate solid environmental leadership when it comes to water conservation and efficiency. Bottled water companies utilize and manage water resources in a highly efficient and responsible manner by investing in broadly accepted science and technology to improve water quality, and strengthening water conservation practices.
Annual bottled water production accounts for less than 0.02 percent of the total groundwater withdrawn in the United States each year. Even though it is a minimal groundwater user and is only one of among thousands of food, beverage and commercial water users, the bottled water industry actively supports comprehensive ground water management policies that are science-based, multi-jurisdictional, treat all users equitably, and provide for future needs of this important resource.
IBWA released a water use ratio study in 2013, showing that the amount of water used to produce bottled water products is less than all other types of packaged waters; on average, only 1.39 liters per liter of finished bottled water (including the liter of water consumed).
In 2009, IBWA commissioned a life cycle inventory (LCI) by Franklin Associates to determine the environmental footprint of the United States bottled water industry. The results show that the bottled water industry has an extremely small environmental footprint.
In many parts of the world, clean safe water is unavailable or only available in limited quantities, even in stable periods without an over-arching natural disaster. While governments and the private sector work to find permanent solutions to provide clean drinking water in underserved communities around the world, bottled water, combined with other solutions such as filtration and bulk filling stations, is an efficient and effective means of delivering clean, sanitary drinking water where insufficient or non-existent water delivery infrastructure poses life-threatening problems. In addition, a growing number of bottled water companies are designating a portion of their income to support global programs, which help create long term solutions for the provision of water for drinking, sanitation and hygiene in underserved and developing communities.
A Small Environmental Footprint
Bottled water’s environmental footprint is the lowest of any packaged water according to a life cycle assessment conducting by Quantis in 2010. Moreover, data from the Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) shows that between 2000 and 2011, the average weight of a 16.9-ounce (half-liter) PET plastic bottled water container has declined 47.8 percent. This has resulted in a savings of 3.3 billion pounds of PET resin since 2000. In fact, many bottled water companies are already using recycled plastic in their bottles and some are producing 100 percent recycled PET water bottles.
All bottled water containers are 100 percent recyclable, and according to a February 2014 internal National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) study (based on 2012 data, the most current available), the national recycling rate for PET plastic bottled water containers is 38.04 percent. In 2012, 492.13 million pounds of PET plastic bottled water containers was recovered for recycling, a 34 percent increase over the 366.89 million pounds recovered for recycling in 2007. Despite significant lightweighting over the last few years, PET plastic bottled water containers continue to be the most frequently recycled PET beverage container in curbside recycling programs. In addition, 3- and 5-gallon plastic bottled water containers are reused between 30-50 times before being recycled.
Of all the plastics produced in the U.S., PET plastic bottled water packaging makes up only 0.92 percent; less than one percent. Moreover, data derived from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures demonstrates that plastic water bottles make up less than one-third of one percent of the U.S. waste stream.
Consumers across the United States choose bottled water because it is a healthy, refreshing beverage. Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the FDA as a packaged water and food product and it provides a consistently safe and reliable source of drinking water. Bottled water has its own stringent FDA manufacturing standards governing its safety, purity and labeling. And, by federal law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations governing the safety and quality of bottled water must be at least as stringent as the EPA regulations that govern tap water. And, in some very important cases like lead, coliform bacteria, and E. coli, bottled water regulations are substantially more stringent.
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Media Contact:
Chris Hogan
chogan@bottledwater.org
703.647.4609
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.
In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.
IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often – whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.
