Bottled Water May Be On The Way Out In London, Ontario

Monday night city councillors in London, Ontario are voting on whether or not to ban the sale of bottled water in city-run buildings. Bottled water prices can range from 30 cents to $4 a bottle while tap water only costs an eighth of a cent per litre.

Not only does tap water cost less, there isn't an issue of plastic bottles that in the long run ups the overall cost of bottled water for the city. In Canada tap water is clean so the need for bottled water is not an issue. Nestle Waters Canada is opposed to the city wide ban. They are the company behind those bottled water brands we grab up: Perrier, Vittel and Montclair. On Aug. 11 they issued a news release saying that curbing bottled water would do little to reduce the preference of their product over tap water. They also said that a survey conducted in 2008 by Probe Research, Inc. says that Canadians without a bottled water choice will go for less healthy choices in plastic bottles instead of going to a water fountain. As CBC reports:

"In an independent survey conducted in May 2008 by Probe Research Inc., Canadians said they are not choosing bottled water over municipal tap water," said Gail Cosman, president of Nestlé Waters Canada in the release.

"What should be of particular concern to the City of London is that the Probe study also indicated that about 60 per cent of bottled water drinkers said they will revert to less healthy alternatives found in plastic beverage containers if bottled water isn't available."

Nestle is proposing a pilot program in London to recycle the bottles by collecting plastic containers in public places. That may sound great on paper but the facts are it takes a lot of energy to recycle those bottles and some of them still end up being thrown away. Even more frustrating is the fact many consumers are actually paying for tap water with a label. Dasani brand bottled water comes straight out of Brampton's municipal water and then through a filtration system before it makes it to the market place. London isn't alone in Ontario when it comes to wanting to ban bottled water. Toronto, Kitchener and Ottawa are also considering restrictions to the product.