On February 9, 2010 at City Hall, BurlingtonGreen volunteer and zero waste advocate Barbara Frensch delegated to members of Council at their Budget and Corporate Services Meeting in support of City Staff's report recommending the restriction of selling bottled water at city facilities. We are pleased to report that all members of this Committee voted unanimously to support these recommendations to respect the health of Burlington's environment!

Delegates who presented to Committee in opposition to the recommendations included a representative from Nestles as well as the President of Refreshments Canada. However, Barbara Frensch who has spoken on this issue and other zero waste advancements in the past, reminded members of Committee about the various environmental and health implications associated with bottled water and commended staff for their proactive recommendations to restrict their  local availability. Feb 9 presentation here. To see the City staff report click here.




Commercial bottled water is not the "healthy alternative" for you or the planet because....


• commercial water bottling plants are generally only inspected every 3 years and maintain their own unregulated quality control process 

• there have been 29 recalls of 49 bottled water products since 2000 although only 5 were made public; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) found bacteria and chemical contaminants in these products.

• the bottled water companies charge 250 to 2000 times the cost of cold, clean tap water.

• there is a huge environmental footprint associated with commercial, bottled water: the bottle itself is made with a non-renewable resource: oil. Fill that bottle1/4 full with oil and that is how much oil is used to make and transport the bottle itself. It takes 3-5 bottles' worth of water throughout the production process to produce that one bottle of water as well.

• North American cities are banning the use of bottled water including Burlington which will no longer make it available at public facilities.

• transporting the bottles and making the plastic consumes shrinking oil supplies and creates yet more green house gases.


- commercial water plants are drying up river beds with upstream water hoarding of a life-essential common resource.

Municipal water straight from the tap is:

• highly regulated

• tested 4 times a day

• already in your tap

• very cheap

• easily transported in a reusable container

• in short, the healthy choice for you and the planet




For more information see "13 Reasons to Ban Bottled Water" written by BurlingtonGreen volunteer, Barbara Frensch. Want more? Visit: http://www.insidethebottle.org/  

Here are some ACTION steps you can take to pledge your committment to eliminating bottled water from your home, Burlington's municipal facilities, events, parks and from schools.

• Stop purchasing bottled water and encourage your friends, family and co-workers to do the same (use an alternative such as a reusable stainless steel canteen);
• Encourage coaches and event organizers to stop purchasing bottled water that often end up littering our parks and communities;
• Write, phone, email or meet with your local school Board Trustee to let them know you support the ban of botted water in Halton schools -see Elected Representatives contact info here.
• Share what you have learned about this issue with others and direct them to www.burlingtongreen.org & http://www.insidethebottle.org/

TAKE ACTION  to support a 'greener'  Burlington and a healthier planet.

Here are just some ideas to get you started:

1.   Save energy and resources by turning off items that use electricity when not in use.

2.   Use low- energy lights and appliances.

3.   Use less water by taking quick showers instead of baths and turning off the tap while brushing your teeth or shaving.

4.   Whenever you can, walk, ride a bike, or use public transportation. When you must use your car, try to carpool.

5.   When shopping avoid purchasing products with wasteful packaging and choose environment friendly products.

6.   Practice the "R"'s - reduce, reuse, repair & recycle.

7.   Eat less meat in your diet - try a complete"green" meal once a week.

8.   Naturalize your lawn and garden. Avoid use of chemicals and plant native trees, shrubs and plants.

9.   Spend time in nature. No doubt you will learn to appreciate it more and be inspired to take action to protect it.

10. Join BurlingtonGreen and support local eco-awareness, advocacy and action efforts to create a healthier city!

Here's more Sustainable Living Tips:

• Sustainable Kitchen
• Water Conservation
• Sustainable Home Care
• Energy Conservation
• Earth Friendly Gardening
• Natural Recipes for Home Care

Please visit our Contact us page to let us know of an eco event you would like us to post to promote and to attract volunteer support.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE.

The list is growing! check out the list of GREEN buldings in Burlington here.

The BurlingtonGreen Youth Network were so inspired about their hard work and how they helped to beautify community parkland at their April community clean-up event,  that they have decided to offer more clean-up opportunities all year long! To find out more about how to volunteer with the "BG ECO-CREW" , please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

BurlingtonGreen is also pleased to support the greening efforts of the Field & Stream Rescue Team.  To learn more about their important work and upcoming opportunities to get involved, please visit their site at: http://www.streamrescue.com/about_us.asp

BurlingtonGreen strives to "walk the talk" by;

• using clean, green energy in our office;
• printing all our outreach publications on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)certifiedstock with vegetable inks)
• using a green hosting web service;
• carpooling to meetings and events.....and more.

We also support and participate in action opportunities such as:

• Annual Earth Hour event
• Community Clean-ups
• Ribfest Waste Diversion Program - our team of volunteers partnered with Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore to divert 37.56 metric tonnes of recyclables and organics from the landfill, a record 88.9% diversion rate!