Beverage industry boasts benefits of bottled water
It probably won’t come as a surprise that the American Beverage Association isn’t thrilled about the campaign that began Wednesday to convince the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Yosemite National Park to ban the sale of water in plastic bottles.
The group, Think Outside the Bottle, argues that the sale of bottled water is wasteful not only because the plastic accounts for a huge proportion of the world’s litter, but because water is a public resource available in every municipality for free, thanks to taxpayer subsidies. Besides, almost half the water sold in bottles comes from the tap anyway, said Kristin Urquiza, director of the international water program for Corporate Accountability International, which is organizing the campaign.
Not so fast, wrote the beverage association Wednesday in an e-mailed statement to the Chronicle. The association claims Americans appreciate the convenience and portability of bottled water, a healthy option compared to fattening, sugar-loaded soda and juice.
“Eliminating plastic bottles altogether isn’t the answer because it limits personal
Palo Alto girl contemplates a bottle of Crystal Geyser
choice and doesn’t address the bigger picture,” the statement said. “People should have the choice to decide how they drink water in a National Park – from a bottle of water, from a water fountain or from a refillable
container. While making that choice, they should also be educated on the benefits of recycling and ways to do so.”
The association’s statement didn’t address the ways in which the water products sold in National Parks differs from the free water that comes out of the faucet.
| M
