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/