Bottled Water Ban Counterproductive With Consequences for Health and Environment

LONDON - In response to the decision taken by the Australian town of Bundanoon to ban bottled water, Jeremy Clarke, director, Natural Hydration Council, commented:

“From a UK perspective, a ban on bottled water as undertaken by the residents of Bundanoon would actually be counterproductive; with potentially detrimental consequences for health and the environment.

“We know that when bottled water sales fell in the UK last year 71 per cent of that came from people actually switching to other soft drinks(1). Ninety per cent of bottled water drinkers drink it instead of other soft or hot drinks(2). That is the true competitive context of bottled water. It is sold, bought and consumed as an alternative to the other soft drinks it sits next to on the shelves. Why would anyone remove the only choice that has zero sugar, zero calories and zero additives? Bottled water is a healthy form of hydration, and to remove that choice is a flabbergasting move.

“Not only is health a consideration but there could also be a negative impact on the environment. Bottled water is one of the greenest drinks on the shelf. The carbon footprint of a fizzy drink is 2-3 times greater than bottled water and a fruit juice or smoothie is 7-8 times greater(3). So the removal of bottled water and the subsequent move to other packaged beverages actually results in a larger environmental impact.

“It is one of the great misnomers that tap water and bottled water are substitutable. For the last 30 years we have drunk the same amount of tap water in the UK(4). So the growth of bottled water in the last decade has come in addition to not instead of tap. In the majority of cases bottled water is drunk where there is no access to the tap. The historical benefit of bottled water is that it has got us drinking more water as a nation. That in itself is a good thing, but sadly we still do not drink enough.

“The average Briton drinks just 200ml of water a day - 100ml from tap and 100ml from bottled water(5) - but that is less than one glass of the 6-8 we should be drinking. We need to be drinking more water period. Anything that removes people’s access to drinking water is a fundamentally flawed and misguided decision.”

Notes to Editors:

The Natural Hydration Council is an industry organisation dedicated to researching the science and communicating the facts about natural bottled water. It is a not-for-profit company. The founder members are Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Ltd, Nestlé Waters UK Ltd and Highland Spring Ltd.

References 1 Source: ACNielsen 2 Source: NOP, May 2008 3 Source: Industry calculations 4 Source: Defra 5 Sources: Defra and Zenith International

For further information, please contact the Natural Hydration Council press office: (t) +44(0)8452-100222 (e) press@naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk (w) www.naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk

Source: The Natural Hydration Council (NHC)

For further information, please contact the Natural Hydration Council press office: (t) +44(0)8452-100222, (e) press at naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk