Bottled water is trickling away from college campuses nationwide,
thanks to the efforts of student activists and the non-profit groups
that support them with campaigns like Ban the Bottle.
But that's not going over too well with the International Bottled Water Association.
The industry, which had $10.6 billion in revenue in 2010, went on the
defensive this month with a YouTube video to counter what it calls
"misinformation" used to turn college students against bottled water.
Corporate Accountability International, which created the Think Outside the Bottle
campaign that has been used on some campuses, says more than twenty
schools have complete or partial bans on bottled water because of
environmental and health concerns about the industry. Macalester College
in St. Paul, Minn., and California's Humboldt State University imposed
campus-wide bans in September, and the University of Vermont announced last month it will end its contract with Dasani bottler Coca-Cola in July.
In
addition to removing bottled water from vending machines, stores and
cafeterias, students have pushed for reusable bottle hand-outs, water
fountains, and filling stations. "We're really trying to make it part of
the student culture to carry a water bottle," says Clare Pillsbury, a
Macalester senior who led her campus's effort.
But the IBWA video
suggests the cause is unworthy of students' energy – instead, perhaps
they could focus on genocide in Darfur. It claims bottled water is a
good alternative to sugary beverages and easier to recycle than other
packaged drinks. The IBWA also argues bottled water is safer than tap
water.
The students – and a lot of water experts and authors
– disagree with most of these points. They say the bottles add up to a
lot of waste, and that the companies have privatized something that
should essentially be free.
So, what's the take-away?
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