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New Dream.org
October 2007
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Bottled Water: Overview
Welcome to the Responsible Purchasing Guide for Bottled Water. This Guide provides information about the impacts of bottled water and the responsible strategies that institutions have used in their bottled water purchasing decisions. Below we provide an overview of each section of the Guide: Social & Environmental Issues; Best Practices; Cost, Quality & Supply; Policies; Standards; Handy Facts; Definitions; and Credits & Endnotes. Social & Environmental Issues
The social & environmental issues section discusses the impacts of America's bottled water use. Americans bought a total of 8.3 million gallons of bottled water in 2006, sold in a variety of containers from small single-serving bottles to multi-gallon water cooler bottles (BMC, 2007). The increasing popularity of bottled drinking water has significant environmental and social impacts, from the energy used to produce the plastic containers and deliver filled bottles to consumers, to the concentrated water withdrawals near bottling facilities, to the plastic waste from discarded bottles. By choosing tap water over bottled water, institutions can not only save money, but also reduce negative environmental impacts. Best Practices
The best practices section discusses ways that cities, states, and municipalities have developed strategies to decrease their dependence on bottled water and encourage the use of local tap water supplies. These methods fall into three general categories: legislative policies, voluntary efforts led by the government, and public media campaigns. Strategies include banning bottled water, expanding bottle bills to include plastic water bottles, encouraging the use of reusable water containers, and many others. Since the use of bottled water has only recently come under scrutiny, some of the efforts covered in this Guide are in proposal stage, while others are already underway. Cost, Quality, & Supply
The cost, quality, & supply section discusses how bottled water is exponentially more expensive than municipal tap water but, despite this extra cost, consumers are not guaranteed a higher quality product. Almost all Americans already have access to safe, reliable municipal drinking water regularly monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, the standards for bottled water quality, monitoring, and reporting are less effective than those for tap water. As a result, consumers sometimes pay a higher price for a lower-quality, higher risk product. Policies
The policies section provides formal policies, including legislation, that provide institutional mandates for reducing or eliminating the purchase of unnecessary bottled water. San Francisco passed a robust, three-phase policy banning government purchasers from buying bottled water. In addition, a number of alternative strategies have been proposed by various jurisdictions around the country. Of course, it’s possible to change purchasing practices even without a policy, but policy helps ensure timely action and accountability. Standards
The standards section discusses how tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, while bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration because it is considered a food product. The standards are different and are enforced differently. It is not uncommon for bottled water to be sold without ever having been tested by the FDA, especially if it is sold within the same state where it was produced. Handy Facts
The handy facts section provides a referenced set of facts and findings pertaining to bottled water. Definitions
The definitions section provides a glossary of terms used throughout the Guide. Credits & Endnotes
The credits & endnotes section lists the people responsible for writing, reviewing, and editing this Guide along with a listing of sources referenced. Want more information Go To :http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/purchasing_guides/bottled_water/
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