Bottled water is a healthy choice

I read with interest the column by Tamara Harbar in the Aug. 8 edition of the Stratford Gazette entitled, “Tap into a better world.”

In her column, which makes American recycling and petroleum references that are irrelevant to the bottled water industry in Canada, Ms. Harbar ponders why so many of us drink bottled water when a potable supply of water exists in Stratford.

In Canada, 60 percent of Canadians drink bottled water every day – and 75 percent of them consume it because it is a portable, accessible and healthy choice. In an independent survey conducted in May 2008 by Probe Research Inc., Canadians said they are not choosing bottled water over municipal tapwater. They are choosing bottled water over other bottled beverages with higher calories.

Bottled water is proving to be particularly helpful at a time when the incidence of obesity and diabetes are on a significant increase amongst young Canadians born after 2000. Almost 30 percent of them are overweight or obese, are susceptible to diabetes and may be the first generation of Canadians who don’t outlive their parents. There isn’t another portable beverage that provides the health and wellness benefits to Canadians that bottled water does –  and it needs encouragement from government, industry players like ourselves and the media if we hope to blunt the advance of obesity and diabetes in this country. A concerning postscript from the Probe study: About 60 percent of bottled water drinkers said they will revert to less healthy alternatives found in plastic beverage containers if bottled water isn’t available.

We at Nestlé Waters Canada strongly encourage all Canadians to drink more water, whether it’s tap water or bottled water. We also encourage local governments like the the City of Stratford to work with our industry and ourselves to find ways to recycle more plastic bottles in their communities.

The current recycling rate in Stratford is about 60 percent. That’s good. Could it be better? Yes. We believe we may have a solution. We and our industry partners recently entered into a $7.2 million, three-year agreement with the Government of Quebec and municipalities across that province to collect and recycle plastic beverage containers and other recyclable materials in public spaces. The pilot program that triggered this agreement resulted in, on average, an 85 percent participation rate amongst consumers and businesses.

Canadians have been drinking bottled water for almost 125 years. They should feel confident that they are doing the right thing from a health and wellness perspective as as well from an environmental standpoint – because they are.

John B. Challinor
director of corporate affairs
Nestlé Waters Canada
Guelph